Alea Iacta Est
by texaspeach
Summary: During the final moments of the battle with Cell, something unexpected happens. After being catapulted not only across the galaxy but thirty years into the past, can Gohan find his way home without altering the future?
1. Saiyans

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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Here begins Part One of _Sic Veta Est._

**Chapter 1: Saiyans**

The inhabitants of the planet were feared throughout much of the universe. They were not considered particularly powerful in their base forms – even powered up to their maximum, the highest level the most powerful individual could reach was only about 12,000. Many races across the cosmos could reach much higher. No, it was not their base form that was so feared; it was the warriors' transformation that was from the stuff of nightmares. With a moon – either real or just a bright orb of light emanating the same energy a real one did – they transformed and their power rose exponentially, enough to take on even the most powerful opponents. With this terrible shape, five fighters could lay waste to an entire planet in a few hours. The inhabitants of many planets lived in constant fear that they would be next and never spoke the warriors' name above a whisper, lest it draw them to their planet.

_Saiyans_…

As the Saiyans' reputation spread, Frieza, heir to the Cold Empire, decided to appropriate the Saiyans to purge his planets for him. The tyrant took the young prince of the planet hostage and let the Saiyan king know that if he wanted his son to stay alive, he would do as Frieza said. Knowing that he could not take his son back by force, King Vegeta reluctantly agreed to Frieza's demands.

The Saiyans purged planets for their new master for a few years, but as their reputation spread ever further, Frieza began to distrust them. Although they were nowhere close to his own power level, the fact that there were so many of them posed a problem. There was always a chance, however slim, that if enough Saiyans banded together, they could overpower him with sheer numbers. The report of five supposedly low-class fighters taking on the toughest planets and purging them with hardly any effort pushed him over the edge. He decided to eliminate them.

Originally, Frieza had gone to Vegeta-sei, been confronted with the leader of those five Saiyan upstarts, and destroyed the monkey and the planet all at once. With the events of the epic battle going on thirty years in the future, however, history was about to be remade.

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~tp


	2. From Dr Gero with Love

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 2: From Dr. Gero with Love**

Cell's design was a mystery to everyone. Even the evil android himself did not understand all he could do. It was a welcome surprise to him that he was able to regenerate after his detonation. And not only was he able to regenerate, but he had somehow absorbed Son Goku's DNA and learned the Instant Transmission technique, well, instantly. Now he was back, locked in a contest of strength and wills with Goku's brat, ignoring the other fighters' pathetic attempts to distract him from his goal – to kill Son Gohan and blow up the earth.

The fact Gohan was so much more powerful than his father was mindboggling. The child was eleven –_ eleven_ – and he had ascended far beyond what Dr. Gero had predicted for Goku, let alone the boy himself. It was lucky for Cell that the power went straight to Gohan's head and gave the android enough time to start the self-destruct sequence. As Cell reflected on the strangeness of fate, he stopped paying so much attention to his surroundings, barring the fight between himself and Gohan. He missed Vegeta flying up above him and missed feeling his ki rise in attack. However, he did notice the blast hitting his back, distracting him from both his musings and his output of energy. Add to that the sudden upsurge of power in Gohan's attack and the answer was obvious: Cell was done for.

Even as Cell's body began disintegrating, however, the light on the only computer chip embedded deep within his body began to flash. The chip had been a mere afterthought of Dr. Gero's, something that he thought would never be needed. Gero had known that in the extremely unlikely event that his ultimate creation was defeated and destroyed, he needed something to punish the one who killed him. The chip recorded all that happened to Cell; it would know who killed the android. The chip was not a mere recording device either – it was also a miniature bomb. If Cell was destroyed, the chip would be drawn to the offender and detonate.

What Dr. Gero did not anticipate was the immense power struggle that would occur between the two enemies. The chip was able to withstand the self-destruct sequence, but a ki blast with an even greater magnitude was a different story. As it flew toward the unsuspecting Gohan, a small piece broke off and disintegrated. Of course, in any piece of technology, even the smallest part is of the utmost importance. This computer chip was no different. With the disappearance of that tiny piece, the bomb was transformed into something not even Dr. Gero himself could have predicted.

It became a time machine.

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~tp


	3. Fallen Sons

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 3: Fallen Sons**

Gohan was alone, floating high in the air above the gigantic crater created by his struggle to kill Cell with the Kamehameha Wave. He was trembling from the exhausting effort of pouring his literal life force into that one powerful attack. If that fight had gone on much longer, he would have died even with Goku coaching him. His conscience twinged a bit at the thought of his (now deceased) father, but it was quieted by the knowledge that the man did not blame him in the least.

He dropped out of his Super Saiyan transformation unintentionally, too drained to hold it. His eyes closed of their own accord and he began to fall. Because his eyes were closed and his friends were still trying to absorb the fact that Cell really was gone, no one noticed the miniscule computer chip flying through the air. No one noticed it latch onto the remnants of the top of Gohan's gi. No one noticed the tiny light it began emitting. But everyone noticed when that same light suddenly engulfed the demi-Saiyan, a light so bright the remaining Z fighters had to shield their eyes. When the light faded away, Gohan had disappeared.

Now the demi-Saiyan was hurtling through something he had never seen before, being sent to who knew where. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced; even the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was not this intense. He forced his eyes open for a brief moment, but the myriad of colors was so disconcerting that he quickly snapped them shut again. All his senses were on high alert, forced into action by the surprise attack. Somehow he got the feeling that if he had been fully human, even one as powerful as Krillin or Tien, his body would have been ripped to shreds. As it was, the pain coursing through his already battle-weary body was excruciating. His arm was especially painful, the raw wound feeling as though someone had rubbed salt into it with steel wool.

Gohan's voyage finished as suddenly as it had begun. The dazzling array of colors faded away as if they had never been and the pain stopped as if it were a thread cut by a knife. As he became more aware of his surroundings, shaking off the after-effects of the wormhole, he realized that he was falling – and falling fast. Adrenaline surged through his veins and he gathered all his energy, coming to a halt inches before he hit the ground. If the resulting crater made by the backlash of his abrupt stop was any indication, he had fallen from a great height. Gohan was glad that he had caught himself before he became acquainted with the sandy, desert-like ground. Sand in one's wounds was never a good experience. He had enough dirt in them already.

The boy touched down heavily. The gravity was different here, he realized, probably about ten to fifteen times heavier than Earth's. He looked around, grimacing in pain as he grasped his shoulder. The place he landed seemed deserted, but he could feel many higher-level kis concentrated in various places around the planet. None was very impressive to Gohan – even Chiaotzu was stronger than the inhabitants on this planet were. The highest ki level here was probably about 12,000 or so. If he had been in good health, then he would not have needed to worry. Taking his fatigue and wounds into account, however, he had the feeling he would not be able to take on Mr. Hercule Satan right now, let alone any of the fighters on this planet.

Gohan sighed, dropping his hand from his shoulder. He blinked as his hand brushed something hard tucked away in the waist of his gi. His brow furrowed slightly as he searched for what he had hit. It felt like a rock, but as he finally found it and drew it out, it was anything but. To his astonishment, lying in his palm was a small brown bean. It was no ordinary bean either – it was a Senzu! He stared at it in utter confusion. How did a Senzu bean get into his gi? Were all the ones that Korin had grown recently not in the bag Krillin had been safeguarding? He stared at it a bit longer before shrugging. He vaguely remembered his father having a stash hidden at home somewhere, so it was possible that his mother had stolen one and stashed it inside his gi. It sounded like something she would do.

Whatever the case, Gohan was just glad that he had it. Popping the bean into his mouth and swallowing it, he felt his strength return almost instantly. He briefly wondered about the others as his wounds healed. From what he had seen, trying to fight Cell's ki-enhanced wind had taken a toll on all his friends. Were they all okay?

The demi-Saiyan shook his head slightly. Dende would be able to heal them of all their wounds in a trice. He did not have the luxury to ponder his friends' conditions at the moment. Right now, he had to find out where he was and what was happening.

***

The remaining fighters from the fight with Cell landed heavily on the ground. They all stared at where Gohan used to be in shock. What had just happened? One second Gohan was there and then the next he was not. What was the bright light?

"Where did he go?" Krillin asked confusedly. "He just – just disappeared!"

"I can't feel his energy," Tien said softly, a look of intense concentration on his face. "Is he--?" The other fighters looked at each other uneasily before trying to sense the boy's energy themselves.

Piccolo let out a snarl of rage when he could not find it. "I'm going to _kill_ Son when he comes back," he said furiously. "This is all his fault!" Yamcha and Tien looked taken aback. They had never seen Piccolo like this before, even when he was fighting Goku in the World Martial Arts Tournament fifteen years ago.

"Piccolo, we have the Dragonballs," Tien reminded him hesitantly. "We can wish Gohan back to life, remember?" He flinched back from the glare the Namekian leveled on him.

"I'm going up to the Lookout," Piccolo said abruptly. His aura flared around him furiously and he blasted away, the backlash of energy causing the others to cover their faces. He quickly became a small glowing dot in the sky that soon disappeared. They stared after him, flabbergasted by the amount of emotion the normally stoic Namek had shown.

Yamcha was the first to speak. "What's with him?" he asked. "I mean, it's bad that Gohan's gone, but we can wish him back with the Dragonballs, right?"

"Every time you open your mouth, you prove that you're an idiot," Vegeta replied scathingly. He did not say anything more, only flew over to where his son's body lay on the cliffs. He picked it up and followed Piccolo, albeit more slowly.

"Hey, what was that supposed to mean?" Yamcha yelled after him. Vegeta did not answer, either too far away to hear the weaker fighter or ignoring him. The human turned to look at his companions. "Have I missed something here?"

Krillin sighed sadly. "Think about it, Yamcha," he reprimanded his friend. "Piccolo helped raise Gohan. He probably considers Gohan a son and I wouldn't be surprised if Gohan felt like he was a second father. Wouldn't you be angry if someone caused your son to die?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Yamcha replied morosely. Krillin sighed again.

"I'm gonna go grab Android 18," he told them. "I'll meet you up at the Lookout."

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~tp


	4. Where or When?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 4: Where... or When?**

Gohan popped the Senzu bean into his mouth, grimacing at the bitter taste. 'Is it a requirement for all medicine to taste bad?' he wondered, stretching his muscles as his injuries healed. He went through a few exercises, punching and kicking at the air to make sure that everything really was in working order. After ascertaining that his body was completely healed, he rose up into the air, surveying his surroundings.

This was definitely not Earth. The gravity negated all possibility of that right away. It was at least ten times heavier than that of Earth. The sky was a deep blood red color and not the cheerful blue that Gohan was accustomed to. He had landed in what seemed to be a desert, but judging from the red sky, he was willing to bet that the entire planet was one. The sand and dust thrown into the air from windstorms and sandstorms could account for the red sheen, especially if iron was a major component... He shook his head slightly. Now was not the time to be a scientist, he chided himself. Now was the time to find out what was going on and how to get back.

First, Gohan decided, he needed to find some sort of shelter. It was getting colder and darker, heralding the approaching night. He did not want to risk anyone finding out that he was there, so he set off on foot. He walked for a good ten minutes before he started seeing possible camp sites. Spotting a small rock formation ahead of him, he ran to it and looked it over. It was not much, just a small cave, but it would do. It would keep the worst of the wind out and he could use his ki to warm himself if he really needed to. Settling into the small hollow, he crossed his arms and legs and closed his eyes, focusing on the world he had crash-landed on. He extended his senses slowly and warily, unsure if the fighters on this planet could do the same thing.

The planet was inhabited by fighters, that much was obvious. The least powerful of them still had a power level a bit stronger than what his father's had been in the fight against Raditz. Although incomparable with Gohan's own power, it was still impressive that every individual on the planet had a power level of 500 or more. Something was strange about them though, he thought, opening his eyes. Every ki he felt had a familiar tinge to it, as if he had been exposed to it before. Now that Gohan thought about it, his father and Vegeta had the same feeling, as had Nappa and Raditz. What did they all have in common with each other that would make their kis feel related, however slightly? He ticked off the possible reasons in his head as he stared at the wall across from him. 'They're all fighters. They all have unique… no, Nappa was bald. Strike that. Hmm…'

The demi-Saiyan stiffened as the answer came to him. "They're all Saiyans, you idiot," he said aloud, thumping himself on the forehead for his denseness. But how was that possible? Vegeta-sei was destroyed almost twenty-five years before Raditz set foot on Earth. How could he have traveled through time without a time machine? Maybe he was just hallucinating. Shutting his eyes and extending his senses once again, he lightly brushed against a few people's ki. The result was the same – they were definitely Saiyans. There was no other explanation. Somehow, someway, he had landed on Vegeta-sei.

Gohan shivered. While he had been scouting out the planet for potential threats night had fallen, and true to a desert, the temperature had dropped substantially as a result. He reasoned that it would be all right to use his ki to warm himself up since the Saiyans had to use scouters to detect anything. The boy conjured up a ki ball both for warmth and for light. As he released it to float on its own, he suddenly froze. Something on the top of his gi had reflected the light. He knew for a fact that there was nothing on this gi that could reflect light; Piccolo was a firm believer in using all natural substances whenever possible. He slowly moved the ball across his chest and was rewarded with a second flash. Transferring the ki ball to his left hand, he carefully detached the miniscule metallic fragment from the fabric. Releasing the ball to float in front of him, he studied the object intently.

It was a tiny computer chip, barely bigger than a fingernail. Gohan had no clue what it was meant to do or why it was stuck on his clothing, but it was the only explanation for his unscheduled journey. Seeing as it had appeared after the fight with Cell had ended, it was quite possible that it could have been some strange, last-ditch effort of Dr. Gero to kill his most hated enemy. Since Goku was no longer in the battle, it had been drawn to the only other person with Goku's blood running through his veins – Gohan. If this was indeed the case, Gohan had to give him credit, however reluctantly. Dr. Gero might have been an evil genius, but he was still a genius, at least if his homemade bomb really had somehow turned into a time machine. The demi-Saiyan flicked the chip away after inspecting it; it was too damaged to do anything more than reflect the light now. The trip through time must have broken it beyond repair.

With the question of how he got there at least somewhat answered, Gohan now turned to his next problem: what time had he been sent to? He highly doubted that the Saiyan dating process was the same as Earth's, so how could he get an idea of the timeframe? He considered what he knew of Vegeta-sei and its history. It was not much; Vegeta rarely spoke of his old home. It was possible that he barely even remembered it. According to Vegeta, Vegeta-sei had originally been inhabited by another race, but they were obliterated by the Saiyans under his father. Vegeta-sei had been destroyed when Vegeta was only five.

Gohan spread out his senses yet again, feeling for any other kis that were not Saiyan. He did not find any, so he must be in a time after King Vegeta's take-over of the planet. What he needed to find out was if Prince Vegeta had been born yet and, if so, how old he was. Of course, Frieza had taken hostage the young prince not long after his birth, so even if he was born, Gohan would not be able to feel him. He was going to have to do some reconnaissance to find out. But first he needed sleep.

Lying on the ground and curling up into a fetal position, he rested his head on one arm as he planned what he was going to do. He was going to sleep for a few hours, then wake up and find the nearest group of people, do some eavesdropping, maybe get some new clothes, and find out just when the heck he was.

***

The Z fighters stood on the top of the Lookout, gazing at the Dragon floating in the sky above them in shock. Piccolo was the first to regain speech.

"What the hell do you mean you can't bring him back?" he roared up at the Dragon. Sharon growled in what could have been irritation.

"_Son Gohan is not alive, but neither is he dead_," he rumbled. He was definitely irritated. "_He has disappeared from the realms entirely. I cannot bring him back from a place that I have no knowledge of_." Piccolo slumped to the ground, barely aware of the other fighters. The boy he secretly (or not so secretly) thought of as a son had disappeared without a trace. Gods, he was going to _kill_ Son Goku when he was wished back to life.

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~tp


	5. Only a Monkey

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 5: Only a Monkey**

Gohan set out almost as soon as he had awakened, heading toward the nearest group of people he could find. On the way, he spotted a small deserted house. Hoping to find some clothing of some kind, he took a quick detour inside. He was in luck, of a sort; he found a shirt that was only slightly too big. Assessing the pants of his gi, he found a few holes, but their condition was pretty good considering the fight he went through. Ripping off the remnants of the top, he pulled the shirt on over his head and tucked it in, tying his belt firmly around his waist. Feeling better now that he was a little bit more clothed, he took off again and quickly found the group from earlier. Their appearance was the clincher to Gohan's theory – they were definitely Saiyans.

The Saiyans had not taken him seriously at first. He had been nice and polite when he asked where the best place to get information was. Apparently though, Saiyans did not comprehend nice and polite. Or rather, they did, but only if the person in question was a superior. Gohan was obviously not a superior, being a child, so they felt that they did not have to give him anything.

When Gohan persisted, one of them finally had enough. "If you can beat me in a fight," the man snapped, "then we'll tell you. If I win, you stop bugging us." Gohan quickly agreed. Beating people up for information was a little too Vegeta-esque for him, but it was obvious that these Saiyan would not take kindly to diplomacy. He ignored the snickers coming from the rest of the group.

One of the others laughed outright. "Capsum, you're kidding, right?" he asked. "You'll grind this kid into a pulp!"

Capsum shrugged, falling into a fighting stance. "He's the one who agreed," he replied. He looked at Gohan. "You ready to die, kid? That's what's about to happen."

Gohan did not reply beyond a brief shrug, sinking into his own stance. Neither fighter moved, each assessing the other's strength. Well, Capsum was assessing Gohan's strength. Gohan had already done so and was now busy wondering where the best place to get information would be. A marketplace? A mess hall?

Capsum growled low in his throat. The kid wasn't even paying attention! He was gonna pay for that! The Saiyan launched himself at his opponent, who merely glanced at him and disappeared. The next thing he knew a fist was in his stomach, driving the air out of his lungs. The boy slowly withdrew his hand, letting Capsum fall to the dusty ground, clutching his stomach in pain. Darkness gathered on the edges of the man's sight and before he realized what was happening, he passed out.

The other members of the group gaped at the child who beat their best fighter with one punch. Gohan glared at them in annoyance and they shrank back. "Tell me where the best place to get the most recent information is," he said. His voice was much colder than before and he suddenly seemed ten feet tall and indestructible. They needed to give him what he needed so he would leave them the hell alone!

"T-The capital," one answered shakily, gulping when Gohan looked at him. "There's a bar next to the landing pods at the military complex. That's where all the best information is. It's that way." He pointed to the east. Gohan nodded, inwardly laughing. So this was what being Vegeta felt like! It was somewhat funny seeing grown men cower before an eleven-year-old, even if he was uncomfortable about the reason they were doing it.

"Thank you," the boy replied. He turned to go. "By the way," he added, turning back to them, "does King Vegeta have a son?"

The group of Saiyans blinked in unison. "Of course he does," the one who answered before said, sounding confused. "How can you not know that?" They all blinked again when Gohan swore rather fluently for a child, even if that child was a Saiyan.

"How old is he?" the demi-Saiyan demanded, ignoring the question.

"He's five," another man answered. His dark eyes were sharp and suspicious. "Why don't you know this?"

Gohan glanced at him. "Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." He blasted off, sending waves of dirt into the group's collective faces. They all coughed and swore as they tried to keep from inhaling the dirt swirling around them. No one noticed their fallen companion regaining consciousness.

"Ugh… what happened?" Capsum asked thickly, sitting up with difficulty. His companions looked at him and then at each other before breaking into laughter, forgetting all about Gohan's strange behavior in the face of ribbing their comrade.

"You got your ass kicked by a kid!"

***

Gohan leaned against the wall in the bar he had found about an hour prior, arms crossed and eyes closed. Saiyans warriors surrounded him on all sides, but no one bothered him. He did not cut a very impressive figure, being a head shorter than the shortest of the other bar patrons, but something about the way he held himself kept anyone from bothering him. There was also the small fact that the only guy who tried to pick a fight with "the pipsqueak" was still out cold on the floor in front of said pipsqueak.

Gohan ignored the prone figure, listening to the talk around him. He felt a little guilty about knocking the man out, but the warrior was drunk and the demi-Saiyan knew the man would have continued to bother him if he did not do something. Having lightly rapping the man's temple and knocking him out, Gohan was now free to contemplate his situation. He knew that he was on Vegeta-sei, but he still did not know exactly when. From his… conversation with that group of fighters he found he knew Vegeta was five, which meant Frieza was going to destroy the planet sometime soon. He just did not know _when_ and that, of course, was the most important thing he needed to know.

As the demi-Saiyan continued to consider the strange set of circumstances in which he found himself, a commotion at the entrance to the bar distracted him from his thoughts. He glanced over at the door to see a man lying on the remains of one of the tables. When the man stood up, Gohan's breath caught in his throat. It was his father! Rational thought returned almost immediately, however, and he realized that although the stranger looked much like Goku, it was not him.

This man was tanner and taller. A scar graced his left cheek and a red strip of cloth was partially hidden under his hair. He was also in bad condition, blood dripping from his many injuries to the floor. The other Saiyans stared at him for a moment.

"What's wrong with Bardock?" one asked.

His companion laughed. "He got beat up, that's what!" he said gleefully. "About time it happened!"

"Bardock" ignored the whispers. "Listen everybody," he said desperately. "It's Frieza! He's coming for us!"

Another man raised an eyebrow. "Us?" he repeated skeptically. "You mean you, right?"

"No, us!" Bardock snapped back. "You, me, everyone here… It's true. He wants us all dead. He's scared of us!" He looked down at the floor, his hand tightening on the doorframe against which he leaned. The metal creaked loudly in the unnatural quiet that had fallen on the bar's occupants. "My whole crew is dead thanks to that freak!" he snarled softly. There was silence for a few more seconds before the entire room broke into laughter.

"Bardock gets his tail whipped and it's the end of the world, right?" one man jeered.

"Yeah," a woman added, "why would Lord Frieza destroy us anyway? We're some of his most valuable fighters!" Unnoticed by all of them, Gohan snorted derisively. They were about as valuable to Frieza as Yamcha was to Vegeta, perhaps even less.

"Fools… you're dead," Bardock whispered. His face tightened. "FOOLS!" he roared. "YOU'RE ALL DEAD! He's on his way."

"You don't really expect us to believe that, do you?" another woman asked, sounding amused.

"Fine," Bardock spat. "Believe what you want to believe. But I'm going to try and stop him." He turned away and stumbled out again. Most of the bar's patrons turned back to their previous conversations and activities.

The first woman turned to the man beside her. "Why would he think Frieza wants to kill us?" she asked him.

"He said his entire crew died," the man replied. "He's probably just in shock or something."

"I'd say it's 'or something'," Gohan said, approaching the two from behind on his way to get out of the room.

The man looked at him. "Don't tell me that you actually think he's right, kid," he said contemptuously. Gohan glanced at him, a secret smile gracing his lips. Again the rest of the bar clientele stopped what they were doing to listen, curious to hear what this strangely powerful child thought.

"I don't think so," Gohan said quietly. He paused just long enough to let the man feel triumphant before adding, "I know so." With that, he left, leaving behind a bar full of very confused Saiyans.

A woman looked at her companion. "They're both nuts," she said decisively. Her companion nodded. The opinion spread throughout the bar and soon everyone was going back to what they had been doing before the interruption.

It was not hard to find Bardock. All Gohan had to do was follow the trail of blood. He caught up fairly quickly and found the older man bent over, gasping for breath as sweat and blood ran down his face. Gohan reached out to touch his shoulder, snatching his hand back as Bardock suddenly straightened up. The man looked around wildly before taking off again.

Cursing under his breath, Gohan raced after him. What had that been about? The man looked like he had seen a ghost. He caught Bardock again as the Saiyan leaned against the door to the outside, trying to catch his breath. Judging by the amount of blood dripping to the floor and assuming that he had been bleeding steadily since his injuries had occurred, it was a miracle that Bardock was still alive. "You won't be able to fight Frieza," he said bluntly, coming to a halt in front of the man who so resembled Goku. "You're hurt too badly."

Bardock jumped slightly, his head flying up to look at his pursuer. His eyes were clouded with pain and bewilderment. "You… believe me?" he asked, sounding incredulous.

Gohan came very close to rolling his eyes. "Of course I believe you," he retorted. "Why would you lie?" Bardock stared at the boy before laughing humorlessly.

"Great," the man said. "A man on the edge of death and a child are about to confront a tyrant with more power than I've ever seen. Perfect."

"You aren't going to fight anything," Gohan replied. He hit the man's neck hard, rendering him unconscious before he could do so much as protest the decision.

Opening the door Bardock was now slumping against, the demi-Saiyan called to the guards outside before concealing himself in the shadows. The soldiers came at a run, saw the unconscious man lying in the doorway, and immediately picked him up by either end and carted him to the medical wing. He watched the men leave before going outside, gazing at the red sky unseeingly as he contemplated his next move.

He had fought an overgrown grasshopper and squashed him like the bug he was before being hurled through time and space to a planet that was long gone before he was even born. Of course, he could not have landed in a time where he would be able to get off the planet easily and with minimal fuss. No, he landed the day before Vegeta-sei was due to be completely eradicated. If he did not do something, he would be killed right along with the rest of the population. The problem was that if he saved Vegeta-sei, history as he knew it would be radically changed.

If Gohan killed Frieza, Vegeta-sei would not be destroyed. If Vegeta-sei was not destroyed, then Raditz would not come to Earth seeking his brother's help to purge a planet. Because Raditz did not come to Earth, Nappa and Vegeta would not learn of the Dragonballs. If Nappa and Vegeta did not learn of the Dragonballs, then they would not come to Earth. If they did not come to Earth, none of the Z fighters would die and force Goku to Namek for the Namekian Dragonballs. If Goku did not go to Namek, he would not fight Frieza and become a Super Saiyan. If Goku did not become a Super Saiyan, then he could not teach Gohan how to become one. If Gohan did not learn how to become a Super Saiyan, then Cell would win the Cell Games and blow up the earth.

On the flip side, if Gohan did not kill Frieza he could jump into the nearest ship and head off for parts unknown. The other option was to stay on the planet and die with everyone else. It was really a lose-lose situation, all said and done.

The demi-Saiyan sighed in irritation as Frieza's ki got closer and closer to the planet. Truth be told, he really did not want to die just yet, not in a place where he would be alone. His father was only a baby, his father's friends not much older. He was completely alone in this time. Even if time went the same way it did in his own timeline, it would still be a nearly a century before he saw anyone he knew.

No, Gohan did not want to die. He could not just leave the people here to die either. It was not in his nature to stand by and let others suffer like this, even if they did not have a clue about what was going on. If it was, then the Saiyans, Frieza, Garlic Junior, Cell… he would not have fought any of them. He straightened, eyes cold and face hard as he came to his decision.

Frieza had killed so many in Gohan's own time: Dende, Krillin, Vegeta, half of the Namekian population, and almost the entire Saiyan race, not to mention the countless planets purged as per his orders. Maybe it was the right thing to do, maybe it was the wrong one, but he was going to kill Frieza and damn the consequences. It might take a long time, but he would train Goku to become a Super Saiyan in the same way that Goku had once trained him.

The boy looked around for any onlookers. Satisfied that none was in sight, he powered up, flashing into Super Saiyan instantly. It briefly crossed his mind to take it to the next level, but that would be like using an atomic bomb to take care of a roach. ('Could an atomic bomb kill a cockroach?' he suddenly – and probably inappropriately – wondered.) He was plenty powerful in this form already; it would be overkill to ascend further. Besides, he had only ascended once, and although he eventually came back to himself that time, he was afraid that it might not happen the second time, maybe even the third. It had taken a week to rein in his egotism when he transformed into a regular Super Saiyan and that was with his father pounding him into the ground every day for hours on end. There was no time to fight that power rush again. The first form would do fine for the moment.

Looking upwards, Gohan easily located Frieza's ki. It was amazing that the lizard could mask a ki of that magnitude and yet still need a scouter to measure others' power levels. The masking was incomplete, though; to those trained in both hiding their own ki and sensing others' ki Frieza's power was a beacon amidst his lower level flunkies. The demi-Saiyan rose into the air slowly before suddenly blasting into the atmosphere with amazing speed. It did not take very long to reach the spaceship that was just now coming to a halt in front of Vegeta-sei.

Gohan stopped in front of the ship, arms crossed as he hovered and waited for Frieza's first move. He was not disappointed – several hundred of Frieza's men poured out of the top of the ship, quickly surrounding him. One golden eyebrow lifted sardonically. One mini-Cell was more powerful than all of these goons combined. A mere drop of his power would take care of them easily and he just might be able to destroy the ship as well.

With that thought in mind, Gohan raised his arms above his head and yelled. His aura flared and suddenly ki beams of all sizes blasted away from all sides of his body, hitting fighters and ship alike. Frieza's men were quickly disposed of. The ship rocked unstably from side to side as the blasts tore through its walls like tissue paper. It would be nearly impossible to fix it in time to keep it from exploding, and that was exactly what it did. The ship went up in flames in a grandiose show of fireworks, disintegrating quickly. But Gohan knew better than to think Frieza was dead and it was possible that his two sidekicks might have survived as well.

Something twinged on the edge of his senses and Gohan tilted his head just enough to let the ki blast sail harmlessly past him. Turning around he saw Frieza, only in his first form and yet still looking completely unharmed from the explosion. Zarbon and Dodoria were not with him, but it was not hard to find them. They were both closing in on either side of him. 'Idiots,' he thought. Just as they were about to hit him, Gohan dropped a few feet and let them run into each other before blasting them both into the next dimension easily. He nonchalantly turned back to Frieza, who was gaping at where his flunkies had been in obvious disbelief.

The lizard pulled back together quickly. "What are you, kid?" he demanded. "You can't be a Saiyan – no Saiyan has this kind of power!" Gohan said nothing, which only served to enrage the tyrant further. "Answer me!" he demanded.

Gohan did not answer the question. "I know that you're here to destroy Vegeta-sei, Frieza," he said instead. "I'm here to tell you that you won't."

Frieza stared at him incredulously before beginning to laugh. "A puny little monkey like you is going to stop me?" he asked derisively. "I'd like to see that!"

Gohan smiled. It was not the smile of a child – it was the cold smile of a warrior who knew the fight was over before it had even begun. "All right," he replied and disappeared.

Frieza looked around wildly, fruitlessly searching for his opponent. "Where did you go, you stupid brat?" he shouted, eyes roving. There was no place to hide in space and yet the brat had completely vanished! What was he? _Where_ was he?

A hand tapped his shoulder and he whirled around just in time for his face to meet a small fist. He flew back, clutching his very broken nose with one hand and desperately trying to block with the other. Gohan followed him, his face emotionless as he continued to pummel the tyrant effortlessly. Before long, Frieza was too tired and too hurt to even attempt to block Gohan's attacks. Gohan noticed this and pulled his fist back, instead beginning to gather enough energy to destroy Frieza entirely.

"What are you?" Frieza weakly demanded again. Gohan looked at him.

"You brought this on yourself, Frieza," he said. "If you hadn't treated us the way you did, this wouldn't be happening right now." He smirked as horrified realization spread over the lizard's face. "I am a Saiyan, Frieza, and it ends here!" He held out a hand and a torrent of energy poured from it. Frieza only had time to scream one last defiance to the world as he died.

"He was only a monkey!"

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~tp


	6. A New Ally

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

* * *

**Chapter 6: A New Ally**

Goku's form shimmered into view in front of Krillin and Yamcha, though they did not realize that it was him at first. Neither of them had ever seen the Saiyan looking so… lost. His shoulders were slumped dejectedly, his normal aura of confidence faded away into nothing. In that moment, the two fighters saw him as what he really was. It was not the perpetually happy, naïve face he presented to the world, but neither was it the hardened heroic warrior that came out during times of danger. For the first time, they saw him as simply a man. A man who knew he had made a mistake that had cost him and everyone around him dearly.

Krillin glanced at Yamcha, telling him without words to go thank the Namekians who had let them use their Dragonballs. Yamcha nodded and left, leaving Krillin to turn back to his best friend.

"Goku?" the monk asked cautiously, approaching him. He hesitantly put a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Krillin," Goku acknowledged. His voice was devoid of emotion, something that made the shorter man shiver. Yamcha came over, casting a curious look at Krillin as he noticed the shiver. For once, however, the man was tactful enough not to ask. Instead he gripped Goku's other shoulder reassuringly. Goku did not acknowledge the touch beyond a grunt.

"C'mon Goku, let's go," Krillin urged. The Saiyan brought his hand up to his forehead and the world exploded into a void of colors for a split second before the Lookout swam lazily into view. Preoccupied with the strange sensation of Instant Transmission, Krillin was too late to stop Piccolo's fist from catching Goku on the chin. Goku landed on his back, not even attempting to break his fall or defend himself from the flurry of punches Piccolo managed to land on him before Trunks was able to restrain him.

After a few tense moments, Piccolo wrenched himself out of the demi-Saiyan's grasp, breathing heavily. "Son, you're a fool!" he shouted at the fallen man. "You forced your eleven-year-old son into a battle he couldn't have possibly been prepared for, even with all the training that we gave him. What are you going to do next, train a toddler to kill?" He turned away, stopping right at the edge of the Lookout. "Don't come after me, Son," he said coldly. "If I ever want to speak to you again, I'll come to you." He blasted off, leaving a group of very concerned fighters behind him.

Krillin hurried over to the fallen Saiyan. "Goku, are you all right?" he queried anxiously, breathing a sigh of relief when Goku nodded and rose to his feet, albeit a bit unsteadily.

The Saiyan shook his head slightly to clear out the lingering fuzziness. "I… I should go home and see Chi-Chi," he mumbled. "It's my fault Gohan's…" He trailed off, swallowing hard, then looked at Trunks. "Are you going home tonight?" he asked.

Trunks shook his head. "Tomorrow," he corrected. "I want to be good and rested for the fight with the androids."

"All right," Goku replied. "We'll see you tomorrow then." He put two fingers to his face and disappeared, ignoring Krillin, who called, "Wait!"

The remaining fighters lingered uneasily for a moment. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys at Capsule Corp tomorrow," Yamcha finally said. "We should see you off, Trunks." The other fighters agreed before splitting up. Although soon physically far apart, all their thoughts were on Gohan, and where the little demi-Saiyan could have gone…

***

In another time and place, Gohan gazed at the spot where Frieza once floated. He had felt briefly triumphant as Frieza's ki faded out of existence, but only briefly. He had been easy to beat. To be honest, he felt like a bit of a bully, beating up on Frieza when he was so much more powerful. Logic stomped that idea down flat; he had not drawn the fight out because of a perverse joy of beating up someone smaller than him (not that Frieza was smaller than he was – it was just the principle of the thing). He had not drawn the fight out at all, actually. He was just being silly.

Now he did not know what to feel. Happy that he saved Vegeta-sei? Scared because the future would now be vastly different from his own past? Angry because he was forced into this decision in the first place? He was not sure, and it was a feeling that he did not like.

He began to fall back to the ground, letting the gravity do most of the work. Halfway down, he began to be surrounded by Saiyan warriors and the further he descended, the more people met him. By the time he was actually on the ground, he was encircled by a veritable army and a stone-faced officer was standing in front of him. Gohan looked around him, feeling vaguely amused. These people really thought that he was a threat! Of course, he _did_ just kill the tyrant that lorded over them, so he supposed that they had reason to fear. He returned the official's stare; neither spoke, each waiting for the other to break the silence. The man shifted slightly.

"I am Tarek," he said. "I am the second-in-command of His Majesty's military forces. You need to come with me." Gohan stared at him, not quite sure how to deal with this scenario. He had expected a mass attack, not a peace talk. He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably as Tarek turned to leave.

"Um… okay," he replied uncertainly and followed Tarek back into the building.

It did not take long to get to their destination. The commander's office was close to the medical bay; as they walked past, Gohan spotted Bardock. The man was still in the rejuvenation tank, but he looked much better than before. Tarek obviously spotted the same thing. Going inside, he spoke to one of the people inside. Gohan could dimly hear him instructing the man to send Bardock to his office when the rejuvenation tank finished its work. Tarek returned after getting an affirmative and led them to the door at the end of the hallway.

Opening the door revealed Tarek's office to be a Spartan affair, furnished with a desk and the chair behind it. Tarek went directly to the desk, settling himself into his chair. Gohan stood in front of the desk, wishing that there were another chair but not expecting to be presented with one. He was therefore surprised when Tarek called for another chair. He was even more surprised when the person who came in bearing that chair was none other than Raditz. He looked young, only about sixteen or so. Gohan had to cover a sudden grin; Raditz as an office boy? Now that was amusing. He nodded at the boy before sitting down. Then he frowned. Why was Raditz on Vegeta-sei? He should be off-planet!

Tarek nodded at Raditz as well before turning to Gohan who, despite the fact that he was much stronger than anyone on this planet, gulped in trepidation. "One would think that there would have been rumors of a child with the amount of power you possess," he remarked calmly. "Yet there isn't even one file on you. Mind telling me just who you are and why you're here?"

Gohan hesitated, mind racing as he decided what to tell the imposing commander. He knew that he could not lie about doing homework, let alone something as big as time travel. Should he explain it all to Tarek? He would need an ally in order to start fixing the damage he had made to this timeline, he knew. Tarek was second-in-command of the Saiyan military; that was a high position in the Saiyan hierarchy. With someone that high up, he would be able to make use of his connections in getting money, a ship, new clothes, practically anything. If Tarek believed him, that was. Running a hand through his still blond hair, he decided to come clean. It would not be his fault if he were not believed. It _was_ a bit of a fantastical tale, after all. Still, it would be a good idea to make sure that his story went no farther than the room without his consent.

"Before I tell you, I need your word that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to say," the hybrid said. "Not even the king." Tarek stared at him.

"What you're asking could be construed as treason," the commander said slowly. "Is it that important?" Gohan nodded.

"It is. My existence here is probably dependent on it." Well, his future self's existence would be. According to Trunks, Gohan's own timeline was safe. Changing the past only meant that a new timeline would branch off of the old one. The original timeline had already had its past and it could not be changed.

Tarek frowned thoughtfully. "I will need something to tell the king, you realize," the older Saiyan replied. "I can't answer him with 'none of your business' if he asks." Gohan coughed slightly to hide a laugh. If Vegeta was anything like his father, he knew exactly what the king's reaction to such a bald statement would be.

"I can make up a story," Gohan said. "Or you can tell him the basics of mine, I guess." Tarek was the one to nod this time.

"Very well. I give you my word that I will not speak of this unless you say I can."

Gohan relaxed slightly. "Thank you," he replied. "Where do you want me to start?"

The commander considered the question before shrugging. "Wherever you want to," he said. "If I get confused, I'll ask." Gohan nodded.

"All right. Do you know who Kakarotto is?"

"Bardock's newest brat," Tarek said slowly. Gohan's eyes widened in surprise; that would explain the almost identical appearances. "He was born a few days ago and was sent off to a planet today. Why are you talking about him?"

"Kakarotto is my father." Tarek's eyes narrowed.

"Kakarotto is only a few days old," the commander pointed out. "How can he be your father?"

"I'm from the future," Gohan replied simply. "A future where Vegeta-sei was destroyed. From what I understand, Bardock was supposed to go up there and challenge Frieza instead of me. Frieza was much stronger, even in his first form, and overpowered him easily. Blowing up the planet was easy for him."

"Frieza destroyed the planet?" Tarek repeated skeptically. "That's hard to imagine."

Gohan smiled grimly. "Believe me, I've seen it happen." He gazed at the far wall, lost in memories of Namek.

"If you're from the future, how did you get here?" the commander asked, drawing Gohan's attention back to the here and now. Gohan smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm not really sure, actually," he admitted. "One minute I was fighting Cell and the next I was flying through the timestream. At least I killed Cell before I left."

"Who's Cell?" Gohan sighed.

"I guess I'll have to start from the beginning," he said. "Before I do that though…" He dropped the Super Saiyan transformation. A startled oath startled him into looking back at the commander. Tarek was staring at him incredulously. "What?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"What did you just do?" Tarek demanded. Gohan blinked. It hit him a second later.

"Oh, I guess you've never seen a Super Saiyan, have you?"

…

"…and so now I have to fix the damage I caused by killing Frieza," Gohan finished, an hour and a half or so of story-telling later. He never realized how long his life story was until now. Okay, the first third of it was about his father and his various adventures growing up, but the majority of it started the day Gohan met his father's friends.

Tarek was silent, face thoughtful as he considered Gohan's story. Gohan clenched one fist in apprehension, biting his lip slightly. It would be a lot harder to repair the timeline if Tarek did not believe him. It could be done without his help, but it would be much easier with his cooperation.

The commander stood suddenly, turning his back on the younger Saiyan as he looked out the window. "It's a far-fetched tale," he said slowly. Gohan's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. "However, coupled with what just happened… it makes a hell of a lot more sense than it should." He turned around again. "I believe you, kid. Now what are you going to do?"

Gohan was too busy being incredibly relieved that Tarek actually believed him to answer right away. When the question finally penetrated his giddy brain, he stopped and thought. That was a good question. What _was _he going to do? The door slamming open cut off any answer Gohan might have had as Bardock raced into the room, bowling the chair – and Gohan – over in the process. "What the hell happened to Frieza?" he demanded. Tarek frowned at his behavior, but pointed to the scowling boy on the floor.

Bardock whirled around, coming face-to-face with the child he had met in the hall. "You're that damn kid that knocked me out!" he exclaimed angrily. Gohan rolled his eyes as he stood up, brushing himself off. Tarek merely stood there, an amused smirk tugging at his lips.

"It was for your own good and you know it," Gohan retorted, folding his arms in a manner reminiscent of Piccolo. "You were in no condition to fight a baby, let alone Frieza." They glared at each other for a few more seconds before Bardock finally growled and looked away. Gohan smirked in triumph, knowing that he was acting uncharacteristically and not really caring. One thing he had learned while on Vegeta-sei was that in order to be respected, he had to act like a Saiyan. From what he could tell acting like a Saiyan entailed arrogance and attitude, so he just emulated Vegeta. It worked rather well.

Bardock ran a hand through his hair in obvious irritation before posing another question. "What happened while I was in the rejuvenation tank?" he demanded.

Gohan shrugged slightly. "I killed Frieza," he said simply. Bardock stared at him for a moment.

"That's not possible," the Saiyan finally responded. "Kakarotto is supposed to beat Frieza."

Tarek raised an eyebrow as Gohan frowned in confusion. "Why do you say that, Bardock?" the commander queried.

"Maybe it sounds crazy, but I've been getting visions," Bardock said somewhat defensively. "My team was sent to the planet Kanassa and I got hit by one of their fighters."

Tarek nodded in understanding. "Ah. The Kanassans had psychic powers or something, didn't they?" He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "So getting hit by this fighter somehow transferred his powers over to you?" Bardock nodded as well, clenching his hand into a fist.

"He told me that I would foresee Vegeta-sei's end as he saw Kanassa's," he replied. "After that, I started seeing Frieza destroying Vegeta-sei and Kakarotto growing up. When I was in the rejuvenation tank, I saw Kakarotto and Frieza preparing to battle each other and somehow I knew that Kakarotto would defeat him."

Gohan cocked his head slightly, regarding his grandfather with curious eyes. So that was how Bardock knew of Frieza's betrayal. Well, aside from the fact that his team had been killed on Frieza's orders. That was a pretty big clue in and of itself. "You must have had the vision before Frieza and I started fighting," he interjected. "It still might've happened that way if I hadn't gone up there to face him, although Frieza wouldn't have recognized Dad if you hadn't tried to fight him." He missed the look of shock that flitted across Bardock's face at the word "dad." "I guess that it wouldn't matter anyway." He looked up to see Bardock staring at him. "What?"

Tarek looked amused again. "How many people are you planning to tell about where you're from?" he asked. "Two hours into it and you've already slipped." Gohan blinked and rewound his past statements in his head, looking both surprised and horrified at what he accidently had said. He turned sheepish eyes on Bardock, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Um… hi?" he greeted.

For a moment, grandfather and grandson stared at each other. Then Bardock sank into the chair Gohan had been sitting in, rubbing his temples tiredly. "I must be going crazy," he moaned. "First Frieza tries to destroy Vegeta-sei, then he's killed by a kid, and then I find out the kid is my infant son's son. I'm losing it." Gohan cautiously went over to him and patted his shoulder gingerly.

"It could be worse," he said. "There could be two of me."

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Read and review!

~tp


	7. History Lesson

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 7: History Lesson**

Bardock landed in front of his house and Gohan touched down next to him. Bardock still was not sure how he had been roped into taking care of the demi-Saiyan, but he was sure he had been tricked into it somehow. Then again, he was the brat's grandfather, so he guessed that it was his job to take care of the kid until he could return to his own time. He turned to Gohan. "It's not exactly the palace," he drawled, "but it does what it's supposed to do."

Gohan grinned up at him. "It's fine with me," he replied. "Our house on Earth isn't very big either." Bardock grunted, opening the door and walking in. Gohan followed hesitantly, a little uncomfortable about going into another person's home when he hardly knew the man. The room was a combination of a kitchen and a living area. Two doors opposite of each other led to other rooms, although he did not know what they were.

"That door goes to the bathroom," Bardock said, noticing where Gohan was looking and pointing to the door on the right. He pointed to the one on the left and continued, "That one leads to the bedroom. Raditz and I sleep in there when we're actually home. As you can tell," he added, indicating the thick layer of dust around them, "neither one of us have been here in a while." He surveyed the room with a look of faint consternation. "I hate housework." Gohan nodded in fervent agreement and Bardock smirked down at him. He was liking this kid more and more already.

***

After several hours of arduous cleaning (to Bardock and Gohan at least), the house was clean. Well, as clean as it could get with two males doing the cleaning, at any rate. Chi-Chi would have thrown a fit at seeing her precious son's living conditions, but Gohan had no qualms about leaving dust in the corners. After all, he had spent a year and some odd months living in the wild, first on Earth and then on Namek, not to mention how many times he had been pounded into the ground over the course of his short life. A little dust never hurt anyone, least of all him.

"So kid, what do you want to do now?" Bardock asked lazily, falling onto the couch with a sigh of relief. He looked upside down at Gohan, who stood uncertainly in the middle of the room. "Sit down," he ordered. "You're making me nervous just standing there."

Gohan perched on the edge of the couch in a sort of compromise. "What do you normally do?" he returned. "I don't know what there is to do on _Earth_. Why would I know what to do on Vegeta-sei?" Bardock cracked a grin. The kid had a point.

"I pretty much eat, sleep, and train," the man replied. "I don't know what there is to do here either." He studied the boy for a moment, debating whether or not to ask if he wanted to spar, but something told him that Gohan would refuse the offer. Asking him for the entire story of his life – Tarek had only given him an extremely brief version – was not in the cards either. The boy would not want to discuss his life a second time in the span of six hours.

"Vegeta said that you were only an average fighter," Gohan said suddenly. "But he told us that before he could measure anyone's power without a scouter." He cocked his head slightly, eyes somewhat closed in concentration. He opened them fully again. "You're definitely the strongest person on the planet now."

"Besides you," Bardock pointed out unnecessarily. Gohan shrugged uncomfortably. He did not like being reminded of how much power he had; it still scared him. Bardock glanced at him, then offered, "We can go into the city if you want."

Gohan shook his head instantly. "I don't want people to recognize me," he replied. His eyes brightened as an idea came to him. "Can you tell me the history of Vegeta-sei instead?" he asked. "Vegeta won't talk about it, but I'm pretty sure that it's because he doesn't really know anything about it."

The man groaned, but responded, "Sure thing kid." He hoisted himself off the couch and went into the left room, coming out with a suit of armor. "But first," he said, dumping the load into Gohan's arms, "You need some different clothes. This used to be Raditz's before he grew out of it. It's still in pretty good condition."

Gohan looked up at him, frowning slightly. "Why do I have to wear armor?" he asked. Realizing that his question could be construed as rude, he hurriedly added, "Is it not a good idea to wear anything else?"

"It's a better idea to wear it, yes," Bardock replied, guiding the boy to the bathroom. "If you aren't wearing armor, then it looks like you think that you're more powerful than anyone else and so you don't need it. It tends to get under people's skin and they think you're a threat."

"Oh," the hybrid replied eloquently. "I see." He really did not, seeing as he was in a house and not in public, but he did not want to offend the man who would be taking care of him for the foreseeable future. He shut the door softly and began pulling off his clothing as he looked around the small room. Interestingly, the bathroom had plumbing in spite of the distance from civilization – there was a toilet and a shower, though the sink was missing. Gohan wondered if Saiyans washed their hands after going to the bathroom or if they even knew about the harmful bacteria that got on their hands as a result of the act. He decided not to dwell on it; he was not sure that he wanted to know.

He tugged the boots on before opening the door, old gi in hand. His grandfather nodded approvingly, then frowned suddenly. "Where's your tail?" he asked.

Gohan flushed slightly. "Vegeta cut it off when I was five," he replied.

"_Prince Vegeta_?" Bardock repeated incredulously. "Why the hell would he do that?" Gohan's face reddened further.

"Because I was stomping on him while I was an Oozaru?" the boy half-asked, half-stated. "It never grew back after that. Sometimes I wish it would, though. It was useful."

Bardock considered his grandson thoughtfully, wondering what else Gohan had gone through in his short life. After hearing that shocking bit of information, he really wanted to interrogate the boy now. Who knew what other interesting things had happened to him? Pushing away his desire to question Gohan further, he instead shrugged and said, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it. You're definitely going to be taunted by people."

Gohan shrugged. He had a vague memory of people staring at him surreptitiously when he still had his tail, but it had not bothered him then and he was fairly sure that people staring at him for the opposite reason would not annoy him either. He knew the truth after all – he had more power in one finger than most Saiyans with tails had in their entire bodies. There was no reason to get upset. "Can you tell me now?" he asked.

"I swear you're just like Raditz," Bardock muttered. "If I didn't know better, I'd think that _he_ was your father."

The hybrid colored again. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I don't mean to be rude."

"You and Raditz act exactly alike," Bardock replied, rolling his eyes. "You want to know everything and you want to know now." He shook his head. This was _not_ how he had envisioned his evening, not that he had thought ahead in the first place. "What do you know about Vegeta-sei?"

Gohan thought hard. "All I know is that there was another race living here that the Saiyans killed while under King Vegeta and that the planet was blown up – or supposed to be, I guess – today," he finally answered. "But I don't even know if that's true."

"Well, that's true enough," Bardock admitted. "A little less than twenty years ago, the Saiyans live in the desert here on Vegeta-sei. The cities we live in now belonged to the people who lived here before us.

"We didn't have a king," the Saiyan continued. "We had clans, not an empire. There wasn't really a clear-cut leader for each clan; generally, whoever was the strongest was who we followed, so it changed all the time. Clans often fought each other for territory, food, and water, so every warrior was injured. Sometimes an injury was enough to give the person the power to usurp the current person in charge. I don't think I have to tell you what happened to the loser." Gohan nodded grimly. He had a feeling that the loser's fate was a gruesome death at the hands of the victor.

"Anyway, about… seventeen years ago, I think, Vegeta suddenly took control of his clan and began to take over the others. He came out of nowhere, but it only took him a year to cement his control over the entire Saiyan race. Not many of us liked the change – most of us still preferred the old ways. The only reason barely anyone rebelled against him at that point was because no one came close to being his equal in terms of power." Bardock stared at his grandson without seeing him, remembering the horrors of the time before war erupted. Anyone who tried to kill Vegeta had been publically executed by Vegeta himself. Even the king's own brother had been killed.

The Saiyan shook himself out of his daze. "Vegeta decided that he wanted to take over the entire planet," he resumed. "Apparently that had been his goal from the beginning. Taking control of us was only the first step. Once he was sure that he would be obeyed, he ordered a surprise attack on one of the cities. The Tsufurusians were caught by surprise, but they had amazing technology, enough to force us back." Bardock's dark eyes were aglow with respect. "They were able to hold their own for ten years, using nothing but their intellect. As our fighting evolved, so did theirs. In the tenth year of the war, the full moon rose. It was all over after that; the Tsufurusians didn't have firepower strong enough to combat that many Oozarus all at once. We slaughtered every last one of them and Vegeta moved the entire Saiyan race into the cities. All the technology was useless to us, of course; we had no clue how to use it."

Gohan listened avidly. He was hearing a story that no one from his time had heard in over three decades and he did not want to forget a single detail. Something was still confusing him, however. "How did Frieza take control then?" he asked. "If no one knew how to use the technology, then no one could get into space, right?"

Bardock laughed sardonically. "That would've been true if the Arcosians hadn't landed here. They were looking for the Tsufurusians and found us instead. Their leader agreed to provide us with the knowledge to use the equipment if we would purge a planet for them. The inhabitants of that planet were too strong for the Arcosians to defeat, hence the deal. After that, we eventually just purged the planets and received technology in return. Frieza heard of us and decided that we would be the perfect tool to help expand his empire. He kidnapped Vegeta's son and told Vegeta that we would purge planets for the Cold Empire or the prince would die." The man shrugged slightly. "We didn't really have a choice after that. Vegeta didn't want his son to be killed, so we were forced to do Frieza's dirty work."

"Instead of the Arcosians', right?" Gohan asked. Bardock gave him a half-hearted smirk.

"Exactly."

The demi-Saiyan studied his grandfather for a moment. It was obvious that the man hated thinking about the past. The bitterness in his voice as he spoke attested to that. Gohan felt bad, remembering how he pretty much forced Bardock to relive what he had gone through. Now he felt that he should do something to make it up to the man. Being a Saiyan, there were two ways to drag Bardock out of the funk he was in: food or fighting. Since Gohan could not cook worth a damn…

"Do you want to spar?" the boy asked abruptly. Bardock blinked at him, nonplussed by this change of topic.

"What?" the man asked blankly.

"Do you want to spar?" Gohan repeated slowly, as if talking to a child. Talking that way to Vegeta guaranteed a punch at the very least. The boy hoped that it would do the same to Bardock.

His tone did the trick; Bardock scowled at him and said, "Outside. Now." Hiding a triumphant grin, Gohan scampered out the door, his grandfather hot on his heels.

***

Later that night, Gohan hoisted his grandfather up over his shoulder and trudged back inside the house, the man's dead weight no problem despite the height difference. Gohan easily beat Bardock, although it took longer than the boy had expected even with him fighting in base form and at almost minimum power. Bardock's fighting style was like nothing he had ever seen before and it took a bit of getting used to, as the style relied on speed, tactics, and subterfuge. Bardock was good but Gohan was better, despite Bardock having over twenty years more experience than his grandson. Gohan, on the other hand, had been taught by Piccolo and Goku. Both were tactical geniuses in the fighting realm and observing Vegeta over the years had paid off as well. It took two minutes to find a weakness. After that, it was all over for Bardock.

Carefully laying the man down on the couch, Gohan then went to the bedroom to find a gi. He looked through the closet before finding a bag that looked like it had been pulled down from the shelf above, judging by the amount of dust still on it. There were several gis inside, so the boy grabbed one and put it on, carefully folding the armor and putting it inside the bag before stowing the bag in a corner.

Hearing a moan from the living room, Gohan poked his head out the door to the bedroom and surveyed Bardock with some surprise. He was already waking up? His body must be used to this kind of treatment for him to regain consciousness so quickly. He walked back out into the living room. "Are you all right?" he asked concernedly. Bardock groaned as he sat up slowly.

"I think I'm going to have to wait to spar with you until I get stronger," he mumbled. "I got beat by a kid. That's just embarrassing." Gohan looked somber.

"I've been fighting for almost eight years," the hybrid said quietly. "I trained for four straight years, one of those in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. I've killed people. I'm not a child anymore, Bardock. I haven't been one since I was five." His eyes had a faraway look in them as he remembered the day Piccolo sacrificed his life to save his rival's son. That was the day that he had fully comprehended what it meant to die.

The sound of the front door opening cut through the fog of depression that had begun to cloud Gohan's mind and he looked up, blinking in surprise as Raditz shut the door again. "What are you doing here?" Raditz asked, sounding confused. His gaze traveled from Gohan to Bardock, who was looking a bit worse for the wear. "Father? What happened?" he demanded. Bardock chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"I'm fine, Raditz," the man replied reassuringly. "Just got my ass kicked by a kid is all." He gingerly got to his feet, wincing as he pulled an already pulled muscle.

Raditz looked unconvinced, but did not push the matter. "Why is he here?" he asked again, tilting his head toward Gohan. Bardock smirked slightly, always willing to get one up on his son.

"Say 'hello' to your nephew, Raditz."

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~tp


	8. Realizations

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 8: Realizations**

"Say 'hello' to your nephew, Raditz." Gohan's eyes got very wide when Bardock named the person who walked in the door. His face was less lined and his eyes less cruel, but it was Raditz. The hair was unmistakable.

Raditz looked at Gohan again, confusion painted over his features. "Nephew?" he asked perplexedly. "Do I have another brother that I don't know about?"

The demi-Saiyan gulped, reminding himself that he was not four-and-a-half years old anymore. He had been distracted enough when Raditz had appeared back in Tarek's office to really register his uncle's presence, but he was certainly not distracted now. Though he had seen many horrible things that had all but banished the memories of being kidnapped by his uncle, he could still remember sounds and feelings. His father's screams of pain echoed in his mind and he shivered unconsciously.

"Kid? Gohan?"

Gohan blinked, coming out of his daze to find Bardock tapping him on the head and batted at his grandfather's hand indignantly. "Hey! Cut that out!" Bardock shrugged unapologetically.

"You were somewhere else," the man replied. "What's wrong with you?"

"It was nothing," Gohan said shortly, hoping that Bardock would take the hint and leave it alone.

Bardock ignored the warning. Gohan had frozen up the instant he realized that it was Raditz who had walked through the door and the man wanted to know why. "I need to know more than what Commander Tarek told me," he ordered. "I can't help if I don't know anything about you."

Gohan winced as the truthfulness of this statement hit home. It would definitely be easier if Bardock knew more than Gohan was his future Super Saiyan grandson, but he really did not want to tell the story a second time in one day. Half of his life was one big nightmare and the other half was only slightly better. The hybrid was not sure that he wanted his uncle knowing at this point either; Raditz looked to be a teenager and despite living in a very rural area, Gohan knew that people in that age group were prone to gossip. He did not want his origins to be common knowledge and was afraid that Raditz would fall to temptation.

Bardock noticed him looking at Raditz. "Raditz won't tell anyone, kid," the Saiyan said hastily. "He has a good head on his shoulders for being as young as he is. And besides, you don't have to tell us all the gory details," he added. "Just give us the basics."

"Fine," Gohan growled, irritated. "When I was four, Raditz came to Earth, kidnapped me, and killed my dad. When I was five, Vegeta and Nappa came to Earth and killed everyone but Dad, Krillin, and me. Six, my dad defeated Frieza and then disappeared. Seven, Dad came back and we trained for three years plus another year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Eleven, Dad died again and I killed Cell, Frieza, and hundreds of his soldiers. Any questions?" he snapped. When Bardock and Raditz did not speak, he got up and went outside the house, angry that he had been forced to talk about his life again.

The father and son stared at the open door in shock, though whether it was caused by Gohan's words or by his actions was hard to tell. Gohan had seemed very mild mannered, though a more fitting Saiyan attitude had reared its head once or twice. His storming out of the house was unexpected.

"What the hell is going on, Father?" Raditz demanded once he had regained his voice. "I haven't killed anyone, let alone the kid's father!"

Bardock sighed, running a hand over his face. He knew it was a mistake to ask about Gohan's past, but he had pushed back his curiosity too long. Patience had never been one of his virtues if it did not involve fighting. "Gohan is apparently Kakarotto's child from the future. He was the blond-haired kid."

Raditz's eyes widened to comical proportions. "How did he do that?" he spluttered. "Even King Vegeta is no match for Frieza!"

"He's a Super Saiyan," the elder man replied. "I don't know how the hell he could have that much power at his age, but he did it somehow." His eyes were thoughtful as he remembered the first portion of Gohan's diatribe. "I guess being kidnapped by the Raditz of his time left a pretty strong impression if it carried over seven years. You saw how he reacted when you walked in, right?"

The teenager nodded, shaking off the shock once more. Despite what most people thought, his father was a rational man. If Bardock believed Gohan, then Raditz would believe him as well. "Should we go after him?" he asked, a little concerned.

Bardock shook his head immediately. "He's only just outside the house. We'll give him his space." The man gave a small smirk. "After all, I'm sure that he can take care of himself."

***

Gohan loved being outside. It might have been something that had carried over from training with Piccolo, or perhaps it stemmed from being cooped up in his room from the time he was two years old. Whatever the case, being outdoors was his escape. It was a place where he would not be bothered if he did not want to be. It was a place where he could calm down when he was angry. It was a place where he could think.

This was really the first time that events had slowed down enough for the hybrid to stop and think about all that had happened in the last two, almost three days. He killed Cell for killing his father (and threatening the rest of the earth, but killing his father was definitely on the top of the list). He was transported to another planet in another time, a planet that had been destroyed thirty years before he was born. He killed Frieza, Zarbon, Dodoria, and several hundred nameless soldiers just this morning before meeting his grandfather for the first time. He was faced with the prospect of being stuck in this timeline for a very long time while he trained his father to become a Super Saiyan. And on top of that, Bardock had forced him to recount his life's story a second time even though it should have been obvious that he was reluctant to talk about it.

The confusing jumble of feelings rose up in Gohan's chest and he screamed, dropping the restraints on his power and letting it race past the dam that kept it blocked. He flickered into Super Saiyan with ease as his aura whipped around him violently. Feeding on his pain and anger, he broke through the barrier to the second level again. Electricity began to travel up and down his body as the ground began to shake with the force of his power. He fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily as he tried to keep the tears at bay, not noticing the figure that watched him from the doorway to the house.

Bardock had been taken by surprise when the ground started shaking and, despite the lingering aches and pains from the earlier spar, rushed to the front door to see what was going on. At first he had no idea what was going on; the ground shaking only happened when an Oozaru was close. He had quickly realized that it was Gohan who was propagating the sudden earthquake and stood still in awe. It was amazing how much power the boy actually had.

It was over as suddenly as it began. Gohan dropped to the ground, a choking sound wrenching itself from his throat and Bardock suddenly realized that despite the protests that he was not a child, Gohan was only eleven years old. His father had just died and he had been thrown into another time where he expected to stay until Kakarotto became a Super Saiyan himself. It was only natural that he was on the verge of a breakdown.

The boy abandoned the futile effort to keep from crying and let the tears fall. After wrestling with himself for a brief moment, Bardock approached him and placed a hand on his back, ignoring the sting from the tiny bolts of lightning. Gohan stiffened slightly, but then relaxed when he realized who it was. He looked up at his grandfather, green eyes swimming with tears. "Why?" he whispered desperately. Bardock knew he was not asking why he had come out there. He was asking why his life had been so messed up. He was asking why everything that had happened had to happen to _him_.

Bardock had no answer. The only thing he could offer was a shoulder to cry on. And so he did. He picked the boy up, cradling him against his shoulder as he walked back inside and let him cry himself to sleep. It was the least he could do after driving the boy into this state in the first place.

***

Gohan opened his eyes blearily, growling as sunlight hit them harshly. Deciding that he would not be able to go back to sleep he sat up slowly, throwing the covers off as he did so. Then he blinked. How had he gotten into bed? The last thing he remembered was storming outside after giving a very short description of his life. Everything else was a blank, up until… He groaned loudly. Though he could not remember what had happened right after going outside, what he next remembered was quite clear. He had let his emotions get the best of him yet again and cried all over his grandfather. Great. Bardock was really going to be angry now. Vegeta hated tears and said that they were a sign of weakness. Who was to say that Bardock would not be the same?

The object of Gohan's thoughts walked into the bedroom at that moment. "I take it you're feeling better now?" Bardock remarked as he raided the closet in search of something. Gohan's cheeks reddened as he looked down at his hands.

"Sorry," the boy mumbled. "I didn't mean to yell at you, or to cry all over you." He blushed even harder, mortified at having to say the words out loud. A hand rested on his head and he looked up at Bardock through lowered lashes. His grandfather looked down at him, a hint of what could be termed a smile on his lips.

"Don't worry about it, kid. I understand why you did it," Bardock replied. "I shouldn't have pushed you about it in the first place. Now, let's go get something to eat."

Gohan's face split into a grin. "Okay!" he said excitedly, bouncing out of bed and into the living room. Bardock shook his head ruefully, marveling at the energy of youth.

"Where's Raditz?" Gohan queried halfway through their meal. Bardock glanced across the table at him.

"He's already at the palace," the man replied. "He had to leave early for some reason or another."

Bardock's scouter began beeping loudly. Its owner groaned and went to get it. Putting it on, he said, "This is Bardock."

"Bardock, the king has returned," Tarek's voice said. "He wants to see Gohan. Now. Have him meet me in my office so I can take him where he needs to go. Tarek out." Bardock slowly took the machine away from his head and turned to look at Gohan, who looked quite serious for someone who had been stuffing his face two seconds beforehand.

"It seems you're being summoned," the Saiyan remarked lightly. "Do you want me to come with you?" Gohan shook his head.

"Tarek isn't very strong, but I can feel him," the hybrid demurred. "It shouldn't be too hard to find the palace. I'll be fine." He quickly finished the last portion of his meal before running into the bedroom, not noticing Bardock mouth the words "not very strong". Tarek was one of the most powerful Saiyans alive before Gohan showed up. Gohan came out a few minutes later dressed in the armor Bardock had given him the day before and went to the door. "Bye!" he said, then went outside and took off.

Bardock stared after him, then shut the door and sat back down at the table, though his mind was not on breakfast. Why did he have a bad feeling about this?

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~tp


	9. Wanted

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 9: Wanted**

Gohan met Tarek in his office so he could be escorted to the throne room. As they walked, the commander quickly filled him in as to what had happened upon King Vegeta's arrival. The king was informed of Frieza's death the moment he arrived on Vegeta-sei. The shock on his face when he heard that the tyrant was dead was nothing compared to what it looked like when he heard that the person who had killed him was an eleven-year-old child who possessed the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan. Vegeta immediately ordered that this "Gohan" be brought to the palace. Now Gohan was alone and feeling somewhat apprehensive as Tarek left him in front of the doors that led to the throne room. "I have a bad feeling about this," he said aloud, opening the door just enough for him to slip through.

Steeling himself, he began the trek toward the other end of the room. The further he went, the more his sense of unease deepened. All his instincts were screaming at him to get out of there and he did not have the faintest idea why. The only person in the room besides himself was the man sitting in the throne ahead of him. The room was bare aside from the throne. So why was he so edgy?

He did not have any more time to ponder the strange feeling; he had reached the other side of the room. He hesitated before kneeling in front of the now standing king of Vegeta-sei, surveying him from beneath his lashes. King Vegeta and his son were strikingly similar. Both had the same hairstyle, the same stance, and the same presence. King Vegeta was taller than his son was, however, and had brown hair and a beard and moustache instead of the black hair and clean-shaven face of the prince. The boy pressed his lips together tightly to keep the laugh at the thought of Vegeta with a moustache from escaping. One royal eyebrow rose as the king stared down at the boy kneeling at his feet.

"You are the one who killed Frieza?" he asked dubiously, circling Gohan. "Impossible."

The boy kept his mouth shut in the face of the insult, though it took a good deal of restraint. Very little got under Son Gohan's skin, but the whole "better than thou" mindset was something that he could not stand. This man was definitely kin to the Vegeta he knew. "Commander Tarek saw the whole thing, sir," he elected to say instead. "Why would he lie about it?"

"He said you were a Super Saiyan, boy," the king scoffed. "A Super Saiyan hasn't appeared in a millennium. I doubt that a brat like you could have killed Frieza, let alone achieve the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation." Gohan's eyes narrowed. In the blink of an eye, he changed from the happy-go-lucky child he normally was into the brusque adult that lay just beneath the surface. This idiot dared to call him a liar? He transformed easily, enjoying the look of astonishment that was plastered on Vegeta's face.

"A brat like me can't become a Super Saiyan, huh?" the demi-Saiyan asked. "What did I just do then?" Vegeta only stared in disbelief.

"It's really true," the king whispered. "The Legendary has been found." Thoughts of how much Vegeta-sei could profit from the powerful child in front of him began running through his head. "So you are a Super Saiyan," he said needlessly. "You will be a great asset to our planet."

Gohan's sense of unease suddenly tripled as he heard the last phrase. What was the king plotting? "What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.

"Boy, with your power you can purge five planets in the time it takes a team to purge one," Vegeta said. Gohan's eyes widened. Purge? "You will be sent on your first assignment tomorrow," the king continued. "I was going to take this assignment, but I want a good measure of your power. Be ready to go tomorrow at midday."

Gohan's first thought was to say "no" right off the bat, but he knew that would not be received too well, so he decided to try a different tack. "But Frieza isn't here anymore," he pointed out in an innocent manner. "Why would we still purge planets?"

"Idiotic boy, we were purging planets long before Frieza came into the picture," the king retorted. "Why would we stop after he died?" Gohan sighed and shook his head.

"No." Vegeta blinked.

"What did you just say?" the man asked incredulously. Surely this little brat did not just defy the king of all Saiyans' orders!

"No," Gohan repeated. "Purging a planet goes against everything I've ever learned. I won't go."

The king turned a dangerous shade of red. He was used to being feared and having everyone do exactly what he wanted them to do, even when he was merely the leader of his small clan. This child was refusing to obey his orders, a first in Vegeta's reign. "YOU WILL DO WHAT I TELL YOU TO, BOY!" he shouted. "YOU ARE A SAIYAN AND I AM THE KING OF SAIYANS! YOU WILL DO AS I SAY OR YOU WILL BE TERMINATED!"

Gohan raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I killed Frieza when you couldn't. What makes you think that you'll be able to kill me?" But the king was not listening anymore, too blinded by his own wounded pride to see reason – something else he had in common with his son. Both could take bodily pain and torture, but they would blow up at the tiniest slight to their honor and pride.

Blinded by rage, the king began flinging blasts in Gohan's direction. Although all were haphazardly thrown, they had a good deal of power behind them. They might actually be able to do a tiny bit of damage if they hit. Gohan dodged them all easily and, blowing a hole in the nearest wall, made his escape before Vegeta got lucky and actually did hit him.

The sound of the blasts and the shaking of the palace walls drew guards from all corners of the palace. Rushing into the throne room, the scene they encountered was surprising. No one had ever seen the king lose his composure, but right now he was blasting all corners of the room and hurling ki balls out a hole in the wall, screaming incoherently. One particularly brave guard cautiously made his way towards the enraged man. "Sire?" he questioned. Flinching as the king turned furious eyes on the man and cursing himself for his stupidity, he asked, "What happened, Sire?"

"I want that brat dead!" Vegeta roared. "5,000 soms to whoever kills him and brings me his head!"

***

The news that Gohan was now wanted dead or alive for 5,000 soms after his refusal to obey the king spread through the palace like wildfire. It was not long before Raditz, who was grabbing a quick bite to eat, heard the story. Leaving his half-eaten lunch on the table, he sprinted towards Tarek's office, hoping that the commander was there. Fugitive or not, Gohan was still family. Sort of, anyway.

Reaching Tarek's office, he found the man sitting at his desk doing paperwork on something or another. "Sir!" he gasped out, coming to a halt before the desk. "King Vegeta put a price on Gohan's head!" Tarek looked up quickly, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

"Are you sure?" he demanded. Raditz nodded.

"Positive, commander," he replied. "Word is that he refused to go out on a purge and the king went ballistic."

Tarek swore fluently. "Damn kid's more trouble than he's worth," he ranted. "Give me a minute, Raditz. And close the door." He began to pace as Raditz did as he was told. Gohan needed to fix the timeline enough to keep it from collapsing. But Gohan also had to be alive in order to do so. Even though he was reasonably sure that no one had enough power to kill the boy, there was always the off chance that someone could get lucky and catch him in his sleep or something equally embarrassing. But how was Gohan going to do anything if he was always on the run?

The plan was fully formed the moment it entered his mind. He turned back to Raditz. "You know where Gohan came from and what he has to do. You know the consequences if he dies," he said. Raditz nodded. "Good," Tarek replied. "I need you to take Bardock and Gohan to the hanger. Take the _Inaesia_. Remember that someone needs to dispose of the tracker onboard. Take it into space and don't hang around Vegeta-sei. I'll contact you when I can. _Do you understand_?" he demanded softly. Raditz nodded again.

"Yes sir," he replied. "Do you want me to get them and bring them back? Gohan's probably at the house by now."

"No," Tarek said. "Go to the hanger. I'll contact Bardock and Gohan and let them know what to do."

***

Bardock tinkered with some of his prototypes to try and forget about the uneasy feeling he had. He was a great fighter, but science had always held a certain fascination for him ever since he was a small boy. Discovering or inventing something no one else had held the same thrill as being triumphant in battle. Well, it was not exactly the same, but it was in the same family, anyway. Raditz was the same way. Right now he was trying to increase the number of Bruits Waves that emanated off the false moon he had invented so that the transformation to Oozaru would be even faster. It was still a long way from being completed, but he needed something to occupy his down time.

His tinkering was interrupted by the front door crashing open and someone yelling for him. Gohan's voice was nearly unrecognizable, choked as it was in anger and a bit of fear. His feeling of unease increased as he raced into the front room and found Gohan in his Super Saiyan state. He studied the boy, noticing the dust covering his borrowed armor. The unease turned into downright worry. "What happened?" he asked urgently.

"The king tried to order me to purge a planet and I told him no," Gohan replied bluntly. "He tried to kill me and so I blasted a hole in the wall and came back here." Bardock gaped at him. He had the balls to tell King Vegeta "no" to his face? He opened his mouth to question if the boy was in his right mind at the time when his scouter began beeping for the second time that day. Taking it off the bookcase, he placed it on his ear and said, "Bardock here." The voice that came crackling back was Tarek's.

"Bardock," the commander said urgently, "King Vegeta has put a price on Gohan's head. 5,000 soms." Bardock actually gasped at the amount – 5,000 soms was a year's pay for most soldiers. Gohan looked confused, though he grasped the concept that it was a lot of money. "I sent Raditz to the hanger to ready the _Inaesia_ for take-off," Tarek continued quickly. "You and Gohan need to get there as quickly as possible. Get off Vegeta-sei and don't wait around; the king will notice that you took off without permission. Disable the tracker. I'll contact you when I can. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Bardock replied automatically, still shocked by the fact that Gohan actually had a price on his head.

"Be careful, Bardock," Tarek ordered. "Out." The slight static stopped and Bardock removed the device, staring at the wall for a few more seconds before rushing into the bedroom that he, Raditz, and now Gohan shared and began putting on his armor. Gohan waited patiently for about a minute before Bardock came racing out and ran outside. Gohan followed instantly.

"Can you feel Raditz from here?" Bardock asked. Gohan half-closed his eyes, searching for Raditz. They snapped back open a few seconds later.

"Yes," he replied. "He's in that direction." He pointed west, straight towards where the hanger was situated. Bardock nodded in approval.

"Good job, kid," he said. "You're faster than me, so I'm going to grab onto you and you can fly us there, all right?" Gohan was the one to nod this time. He flashed back into Super Saiyan and powered up as far as he could go without breaking into the next level. Bardock noticed this and frowned in confusion, but did not push the matter; Gohan was plenty fast in this form already. The boy grabbed Bardock under the arms.

"You'll want to close your eyes," he warned. Bardock closed his eyes at once; he had no reason not to. Gohan tensed for one brief second and then they were off, flying at an incredible speed. The older Saiyan was sure that some of the older ships Saiyans used could not go as fast as they were right at that instant. Normally an hour's flight, the journey took maybe ten minutes. When Gohan slowed down to land outside the hanger, Bardock merely blew his own hole in a wall and they swooped in, Gohan struggling not to grin at his grandfather's antics. "Copycat," he muttered, setting down. Bardock mock-glared at him and cuffed him across the head. The boy lost the battle with his amusement and grinned back up at him. Bardock rolled his eyes.

The room was filled with ships of all sizes, ranging from the small Saiyan pods that were used to transport a single person all the way to massive carriers designed to convey legions upon legions of troops when needed. Quickly moving through the hold, they found the mid-sized _Inaesia_ easily thanks to Gohan's ki sensing ability. Gohan stayed outside for a few minutes to "take care of something" and Bardock quickly boarded, looking for his son. Raditz was busy looking for the tracker. Raising an eyebrow at his son's lack of knowledge about ships, he opened up the control board, plucked a single chip out from the console, and crushed it easily. Raditz colored and muttered something about sleeping during class.

The ground shook suddenly. The two Saiyans raced out of the ship, looking for the cause, and found Gohan destroying every ship besides theirs. "That should hold them for a little bit," he said nonchalantly a few moments later, acting as if he had not just destroyed over a hundred ships designed to withstand everything the designers could think of. He cocked his head slightly, attention focused on something else for a brief second before he returned it to his grandfather and uncle. "A lot of people are coming," he told them. "We should go." Raditz and Bardock could only nod dumbly and race back inside the ship behind Gohan.

Bardock threw himself into the pilot's seat and started the engine as people began to pour into the hanger. He quickly initiated the take-off sequence and blasted the far wall apart to make his previous hole wide enough to squeeze the _Inaesia_ through. He winced at the sheer amount of ki blasts hitting the ship, but knew that even the combined force of the attacks could not tear the ship apart like Gohan had done to the others. "Get in a seat and stay in it!" he yelled back to his companions. They did so without argument and he took off with enough force to knock over the enemies trying to bring their journey to a premature end. Getting through the hole in the wall easily, he angled upwards and accelerated quickly, wanting to get away from the planet as soon as possible.

The _Inaesia_ broke through the atmosphere easily and sped away from Vegeta-sei. Raditz and Gohan went up to the next level to see what was there while Bardock stayed on the control level of the ship a little longer, wanting to make sure that they were not being followed before he went to join them. After ascertaining that fact, he went searching for them and found them still on the level above, Raditz draped across a couch lazily and Gohan slouching in the chair across the room. It did not look like they had gotten very far in their quest to explore.

"No one's following us," he said, looking at Gohan. "At least, not that I can see." Gohan shook his head.

"No one," he agreed. He tilted his head back to observe the man a moment later. "Now what?"

* * *

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~tp


	10. Space Travels

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 10: Space Travels**

While Raditz and Gohan kept an eye out for any pursuers they might accrue, Bardock inspected the ship and its contents, looking for any problems they might run into in the near future. The ship was running smoothly at the moment, but anything could happen, especially with the crap Saiyans called "technology" nowadays. Luckily for them, this particular ship seemed to be one of the newer Arcosian models as opposed to the mockeries made by the Saiyan scientists. That must have been why Tarek told them to take it, Bardock realized.

It was not until the man began looking through the supplies that he hit a snag. The _Inaesia_ did not have much food on it. The food would last them for maybe two days, but after that they were in trouble. At least there were gis and armor stored in the closet; as much as he loved his armor, it was not the best outfit to lounge around in. Gis were much more comfortable. He went through all the clothing, noting with some relief that they came in all different sizes.

Bardock put the clothing back and straightened up with a sigh, not wanting to tell Raditz and Gohan about the food issue. He could just hear the whining now. Descending to the control level, he found Raditz monitoring the radar and Gohan on the other side of the room, arms and legs crossed as he hovered in the air, eyes closed, watching for hunters in his own way. His eyes opened when Bardock came to a halt next to him. "Anyone following us?" he asked softly. Gohan shook his head mutely. The older Saiyan nodded and walked over to his son, asking him the same question. Raditz also shook his head.

"Well, I think that you can take a break then," Bardock said. "If no one's followed us after this far, we probably won't be. We need to talk anyway." The two adolescents glanced at each other before shrugging in unison and following him back up to the living quarters. He sat in a chair while Raditz flopped unceremoniously on the couch and Gohan remained standing, leaning up against a wall. When everyone was settled, Bardock cleared his throat and began.

"Here's the deal," the eldest of the three said. "There are clothes in the closet over there in all different sizes. We shouldn't have a problem with that. The problem is that we only have enough food for about two days. We'll have to risk stopping somewhere to get enough food to last us for awhile, but after that, I don't know what we're going to do." He looked at Gohan. "Do you want to go to Earth and start training Kakarotto now?" he asked the boy.

Gohan immediately shook his head, frowning. "If we go there, it's possible that we could draw the people looking for us there as well," he replied. "They might decide to blow up the planet instead of landing. I don't want to risk it." A sudden grin crossed his face. "It'd be hard to train a baby anyhow."

A smile tugged at the corner of Bardock's lips and he quickly turned it into a smirk. "Very true," he agreed solemnly. He stood up, wincing as his back popped. "Let's find out where we are and find a planet to get some food from."

***

Bardock and Gohan stopped at the last stand in the marketplace of the planet Raditz had found. Christened the very original name of Triad 1, it was the first in the group of three planets that made up the Triad System. It was risky to land there – Triad 1 in particular had a large concentration of Saiyans that might have received word of the fact that Gohan was now a wanted man (boy?) – but it was the only planet in the area where there was a marketplace with the types of food they would need. In addition, as Bardock had pointed out, it was not like there was anyone who could hurt them with Gohan around. Most of the Saiyans were third-class fighters at best.

What Bardock did not realize was that he could easily take care of most of the fighters as well. His power level had been measured at 10,000 after his _last_ near-death experience and the closer to death a Saiyan came, the more their power level increased. Although he did not know it, he was pushing 50,000 after the ambush on Planet Meat and the spar with his grandson. He could deal with most anyone who came after them without needing much, if any, help. Gohan had come to help carry everything and to see what life on yet another planet was like. Raditz volunteered to stay with the ship, most likely to escape package-carrying duty.

Grandfather and grandson were both laden down with packages and walking towards the _Inaesia_ when it happened. A man leapt out of the trees straight at Gohan, who dropped the packages neatly on the ground before flashing out of sight, leaving a faint after-image behind. The man, not expecting Gohan to be able to move so quickly, plowed into the ground at Bardock's feet. Bardock raised an eyebrow at the downed fighter before dropping his own packages on the man's head. The sickening crunch indicated the man's demise, something that Bardock took no notice of as he leapt into action, dealing lethal blows whenever possible. Gohan only hit them hard enough to knock them out, but his version of "knocking them out" meant that the fighter was out of it for at least two weeks.

The skirmish was quickly over. In all, seventy men had attacked them; of those seventy, twenty-three were dead. Gohan picked his packages up and picked his way through the bodies, wincing whenever he saw one that was obviously dead. Bardock raised his eyebrow again when he noticed. The boy was entirely too squeamish about death, especially considering his Saiyan heritage. He himself picked up his own parcels with no indication that he was aware of the blood still dripping off the bottom one.

When they reached the ship, Bardock directed Raditz to start putting their purchases away since all the teenager had done was make sure the ship stayed in one piece and sent Gohan to get cleaned up. Bardock merely changed into a gi and went back down to the control room, starting up the engine and beginning the launch sequence as he ignored his son's grumbling. It did not take long before they were safely back in space and headed for a planet he was sure was deserted – Kanassa-sei.

***

The two-day long journey to Kanassa-sei was uneventful. Downright boring, really. Raditz and Bardock sparred half-heartedly, but it was difficult in such a small space. Eventually, Raditz went to take a nap out of sheer boredom while Bardock worked on the theoretical part of the False Moon Technique. It would not be good if either he or Raditz transformed and tore the ship apart, after all. Gohan did not have a tail, something that puzzled the man. A normal Saiyan child lost their tail at least once before they reached adulthood, but some children lost theirs as many as six times, from fights or sheer stupidity. The tail always grew back and yet Gohan still had not recovered his. But he was only half Saiyan, so the dilution of Saiyan blood was probably the problem.

When they reached the planet, Bardock put away his notes while Gohan checked for anyone on the planet. After getting the confirmation that Kanassa-sei was indeed still deserted, Bardock expertly guided the ship down to the planet's surface and they landed with a soft thump. He directed Gohan to wake up Raditz and headed outside. The second his feet hit the ground he grabbed his head and all went dark for a brief moment before he was somewhere else entirely.

_He was in space, surrounded by what looked like the remains of a planet. A ship he did not recognize was in front of him; the _Inaesia_ was behind him. He could hear someone yelling that it was too late –_

"Grandfather!" Bardock looked around wildly before his gaze settled on Gohan. His dark eyes were worried. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Bardock shook his head to rid it of the lingering fogginess before he answered. "I'm fine," he responded, giving his grandson a small smile and tousling his hair. "Just a headache. Don't worry about it." Gohan looked skeptical, but did not question him further, electing to tug him back inside. "I'm hungry," the boy said instead. "Let's fix something to eat." The man rolled his eyes; Gohan was perpetually hungry, even more so than a full-blooded Saiyan. Maybe it had something to do with the mix of blood in the boy's system?

Dinner was prepared in record time. The three Saiyans sat on the floor as they ate their meal, discussing what they were going to do until they were able to return to Vegeta-sei. Raditz was all for exploring more of the universe; after all, he had never been off-planet before. His power level at birth had been high enough that he was kept on-planet to be trained.

Gohan and Bardock both disagreed. Maybe a few years down the road they could do that, but not now. Who knew how far Vegeta would go to capture and kill Gohan?

"What do you want to do, Gohan?" Bardock asked, stuffing half a loaf of bread in his mouth. Gohan thought about this for a moment, eating his food at a much more sedate pace than either his grandfather or his uncle. Finally he shrugged.

"I can't really do anything until my dad gets old enough to start training," the hybrid replied. "I guess we can train here for a while. I need to learn how to control my transformation again."

"You do?" Bardock asked confusedly. "You looked like you had it under control the other night." Gohan blinked, but then shook his head.

"I don't remember much of that night," he admitted. "I remember going outside, but nothing else until you went out there. I wouldn't call that 'under control.'" Bardock nodded slowly.

"So how are you going to do it?" Raditz asked a moment later, finishing off the rest of his meal. Gohan cocked his head slightly, considering the question.

"I don't know," he replied, sounding embarrassed. "I guess I'll just transform and see how long it takes me to regain control. You and Grandfather should probably stay away from me while I work on it though. I don't want to hurt either of you." Raditz scowled at the reminder of how much more powerful Gohan was. Family or not, it still was not fair that Gohan could have so much power at that age. Bardock cuffed his son on the head.

"You and I will train until you're strong enough to hold your own against me," he said sternly. "That should give Gohan enough time." Raditz scowled even harder but nodded in reluctant acquiescence.

"It's settled, then," Gohan said, eating the last bite and standing up. He put the stack of plates in the sink and then turned to face his uncle and grandfather. "I'm going to leave tomorrow. I'll come back after I've mastered the second level. Hopefully it won't take too long; I hate trying to train my mind."

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~tp


	11. Unexpected Visitor

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 11: Unexpected Visitor**

Gohan got up much earlier than either of the other two Saiyans and was gone by the time they were beginning to stir. He did not bother to take anything with him – after all, he had learned how to live off the land years ago and the only clothes he needed were the ones on his back.

The hybrid circled the globe several times before finding a spot that he thought was suitable enough to train in. It was close to water, which was the most important thing. It was also on the other side of the world from Bardock and Raditz, so they would be safe from whatever might happen while he was mastering his powers. He touched down lightly and decided that now was as good a time as any to start his training.

Shifting into a power-up stance, Gohan released his energy slowly, easing himself into the transformation to Super Saiyan and then to that of an Ascended Super Saiyan. Now came the hard part. Screwing his eyes shut and dredging up every last bit of willpower he could, he let out a yell and punched through the barrier like a pin going through a rubber band.

Gohan was definitely in the second level of Super Saiyan. Electricity crackled over the lithe body. Blond hair moved stiffly in the ki-induced wind. Green eyes opened slowly, but instead of the arrogance and malice that had been in them when he was fighting with Cell, they now merely looked bewildered. Was that it? "You've got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed. Though it had taken effort to attain this next level, control had come almost naturally.

It did not make any sense. It had taken the hybrid a week to control the first level. How was it that he was able to control the second stage only the third time he used it? He sighed irritably; this was completely anticlimactic.

_I agree._

Gohan looked around wildly. "Who's there?" he demanded. "Show yourself!"

_As you wish._

A child appeared out of thin air right in front of Gohan, who blinked in astonishment and surveyed the child with some trepidation. He was about the same size as the demi-Saiyan, but he had purple skin and white hair styled into a sort of mohawk. Nothing about his appearance hinted that he would be dangerous – it was his energy that gave Gohan pause. It felt strange, somewhat like what Kami's had felt like before he merged with Piccolo. It was definitely otherworldly. A ludicrous idea popped into the boy's head. "Are you King Kai?" he blurted out.

The child smiled, but shook his head. "No," he replied. "I am not the North Kai. King Kai is one of four Kais," he added, seeing Gohan's confusion. "There is one for each corner of the universe. We are in the North Quadrant right now, though we are very close to the boundary between North and West."

Gohan nodded slowly. It made sense, he supposed. "But if you're not King Kai, then who are you?" he asked again.

"I am the Supreme Kai," the purple-skinned being said. "You may call me Shin." When it became clear that Gohan was incapable of articulate speech at the moment, Shin continued. "I felt a disturbance in the balance of the universe and so I investigated the source. Imagine my surprise when I found that it was a time-traveler." He smiled again. "I know about you and what you are trying to do. Rarely have I seen such devotion to doing the right thing. I want to teach you a technique that I am sure will help you in your quest. Think of it as a 'thank you' present."

Gohan cocked his head to the side a bit. "A technique?" he asked curiously once his voice had returned to him. Shin nodded.

"It is called the 'Instantaneous Movement' technique," he explained. "It is much like the 'Instant Transmission' the people of Yardrat use, but without the limitation of having to focus on a person's ki. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Gohan replied. "How does it work then?"

"You think of the place that you want to go and simply appear there," the Kai said. "It is not hard to learn, but it takes a good deal of power. If you had not been as powerful as you are, I would not bother to teach you. I expect that you will pick it up quickly."

***

_He was in a mountainous region on a planet he did not recognize. A small group of three people were crowded around seven golden balls that flashed every few seconds. Bardock started in surprise, both at who they were and the transformation that one had gone through._

_Raditz stood off to one side. He looked to have finally matured into the warrior he believed he was already, if the new scars and the way he held himself – relaxed but alert – were any indication. The second person, standing opposite Raditz, was a slightly older version of himself. The red headband was gone from his head; when the younger Bardock looked for it, he found it in the older one's hand. The third one was Gohan, but he had grown up. He was taller than both Bardock and Raditz now. He also had his tail back, the furry limb wrapped securely around his waist._

_Raditz shifted slightly. "Gohan, do these things do anything besides flash pretty lights?" he asked, sounding irritated. The teenager smirked at him but did not answer._

_Gohan raised his hands. "Eternal Dragon, by your name I summon you forth: Shenron!" he cried out. All went dark._

Bardock jerked awake, looking around wildly before realizing it was just a dream. A vision, actually, but he did not want to think about that. It only brought back painful memories and this planet seemed determined to remind him of it at least once a week.

He was no fool. He knew that being on the planet was generating the visions – _dreams_, damn it all, _dreams_ – and they were beginning to get to him. It was not for the first time that Bardock cursed the warrior who had given him this dubious gift. Most of the visions had been harmless little things, lasting for a brief moment and showing a scene like Raditz, Gohan, and himself laughing at something. A precious few had been of Kakarotto – one in particular had shown him being taken in by his "Grandpa Gohan." The others were like the ones that featured Frieza destroying Vegeta-sei. The planet was never named, but Bardock knew that the floating remnants he had seen so many times were the last vestiges of the Saiyan planet. Why would he receive a vision about a planet that he did not know even existed? There were no visions of what Gohan was doing right now. He had not seen his grandson, physically or psychically since the night before the boy took off alone six months beforehand.

Bardock's head snapped up suddenly and he began looking around the room suspiciously. Something was happening; he could feel it. But what was it? Where was Gohan and his ability to sense energy when Bardock needed him? The man looked up a split second before Gohan appeared right on top of him and the two Saiyans fell to the floor in a heap of tangled limbs. Once Gohan realized whom he had landed on, he smiled and chirped, "Hi Grandfather!"

"G-Gohan?" Bardock gasped out, trying to catch his breath after it had been knocked out of him. "How did you get here?" Gohan grinned at him from his position on top of his grandfather.

"It's called Instantaneous Movement," he explained. "Pretty neat, huh?"

"Peachy," Bardock ground out. "Can you get off of me now?" Gohan's face turned sheepish and he quickly stood up, holding a hand out to assist the man in getting to his feet. Once Bardock had regained his breath, he sat back in the chair he had previously vacated thanks to the boy. "Now, what are you talking about?" he demanded, eyeing his grandson cautiously. "What's this Instantaneous Movement?"

"The Supr- I mean, Shin taught it to me," Gohan said, stumbling over the person's name. Bardock raised an eyebrow, but did not interrupt. "You were right – I already had full control of the second level." The child frowned suddenly. "I still can't figure out why. It took me a week to be able to have Super Saiyan under control." He shrugged, obviously annoyed with how things had turned out. "Anyway, Shin decided to teach me how to IM because I'm trying to fix the problems I created. I still have to work on aim, though," he admitted shamefacedly. "Shin said that it'll just take practice."

"So you've been gone for a full six months just to learn one technique?" Bardock asked incredulously. Gohan nodded. "Yeah. Shin said that no one had ever learned it as fast I did." The older man opened his mouth to ask something who this "Shin" was, seeing as there were no other living beings on the planet, but was interrupted by a shout.

"Gohan, you're back!" Raditz exclaimed. He slapped his nephew on the back, obviously happy that he had returned. "Maybe now I can get a break from training!" Gohan laughed and started pelting him with questions about his training. Bardock sat back and listened, looking the boy over inch by inch to make sure he was all right. The tattered gi and many bruises and half-healed cuts displayed that he had been doing more than just learning the Instantaneous Movement technique. It was time to see how much his grandson had improved.

"Gohan," the man said, interrupting the two teenagers' conversation, "let's spar." Gohan's confused look quickly melted into a confident smirk and he turned to face his grandfather fully. The boy had expected this.

"Ready to get pounded again then, Grandfather?"

***

This was starting to become a familiar scene, Gohan thought amusedly as he tossed his grandfather into the rejuvenation tank for the third time that week. It had been a month since his return from the Supreme Kai's lessons and the poor tank was being overworked thanks to Bardock's willingness to be pounded into the ground. Gohan supposed that it could be his unwillingness; after all, if the man would just stop fighting, he would not need the tank, now would he? No matter how often Gohan explained this to the older man, Bardock just would not listen, and so history would repeat itself.

Gohan had to admit that it was effective, though. At the beginning of their training, Bardock's power level had only risen a little bit because he was focusing on training Raditz more than training himself. Now that he was fighting Gohan, he was sustaining much heavier damage, and every time he came out of the rejuvenation tank his power multiplied. When they landed on Kanassa-sei, his power was around 60,000. Now it was pushing 130,000.

Raditz had also improved much more than Gohan had expected. His power at the beginning of all this was only about 300. While being trained by his father, his power had risen to around 10,000 – not a bad improvement for training for only six months. However, after begrudgingly accepting Gohan's help, his power had made a huge leap to 20,000 in the last month alone. Father and son were both doing amazingly well. At this rate, they would be able to give Gohan a somewhat decent fight if they double-teamed him and he stayed at base form.

Gohan watched his grandfather a few minutes more before retiring to his bed, intent on getting some rest before the man was out and raring to go again. He was sporting a few cuts and bruises from lucky hits that Bardock had scored, but it was nothing that he could not handle and sleep and rest would heal them quickly. If training was going to be like this all the time, the next few years definitely promised to be interesting.

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~tp


	12. Interlude: ChiChi

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 12: Interlude - Chi-Chi**

It's been a month since Gohan disappeared. I'm sitting in the bathroom, staring down at the counter in disbelief as I try to keep from sobbing. The little sticks are lined up in a row and they all tell me the same thing.

_Pregnant._

_Pregnant._

_Pregnant._

Are the gods mocking me? What have I done to deserve this? My husband and son go off to fight in the Cell Games, my son disappears, and now this? Why?

I can't stop the tears from flowing. I don't want another child, especially not right now. Not when Gohan just disappeared. What if he comes back and thinks that he's been replaced? No one could ever replace my precious little boy, but does he really know that? Maybe he knows it in his head, but his heart is another matter entirely. He feels things so acutely and I can't imagine that changing no matter how long he's gone.

I miss him so much… The house is so quiet now. Goku has been leaving every morning to do something, though I don't know what. All I know is that he comes back in time to help me cook dinner, something that he's never done before. He would bring fish, already cleaned and gutted, but then he and Gohan would go take a bath and leave me to fix their gigantic meal alone. Maybe he feels guilty for Gohan's disappearance and that's why he's helping me.

He should feel guilty; it was his fault. He's the one who forced Gohan to fight in the first place. But I can't bring myself to tell him that. The night he came home without Gohan and tried to explain to me what happened, he started crying. I'd never seen him cry before. I knew instantly that yelling wouldn't solve anything. Not this time. I just took him to our bedroom and made him lie down. When I lay down next to him, he put his arms around me and we both cried. I know he cried himself to sleep that night. I've done it every night since then. I know it makes Goku uncomfortable and probably makes him feel even guiltier, but what else was I going to do? My son had disappeared after defeating the latest threat to the planet. Why wouldn't I cry?

But now I have to be strong. I don't know how Goku will react to having a second child so soon after our first one disappeared. Had Gohan been alive and well and sleeping in the room next to ours, Goku would be thrilled to know he was going to have another son or daughter. I have to be the reassuring one, something that seems strange to me, seeing as Goku is normally in that role. I wipe my eyes one last time and splash my face with water before looking at my face critically. My eyes are a little red, but it's not too noticeable. I leave the bathroom, picking up the tests on my way out.

I throw them into the kitchen trashcan just as Goku walks into the house. "Chi, I'm home," he calls.

"In the kitchen," I call back. He comes into the kitchen and gives me a hug. Something else that he rarely did before Gohan disappeared.

I need to tell him the news. "Goku, I have something to tell you," I say seriously. I have to suppress a laugh as Goku panics, a "what did I do" look on his face. It's the first time I've even thought of laughing in a month.

"What's up, Chi?" he replies in a would-be casual voice. It doesn't fool me, of course; his eyes were worried and his body was tense. I take a deep breath to steady myself before taking the plunge.

"Goku, I'm pregnant."

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~tp


	13. Clash of the Titans

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 13: Clash of the Titans**

A year and a half later, Bardock, Raditz, and Gohan were en route to get more supplies. They had done this several times throughout their self-imposed exile on Kanassa-sei, but this time they were going to Planet Rast. Bardock had questioned the intelligence of this plan several times – the people of that planet had no love for Saiyans and would gladly kill them without a second thought. On most other planets in this area of space, Gohan, now thirteen, was still wanted and the price had risen from 5,000 soms to 50,000 soms in the past year alone. This was the reason they were going somewhere else. At least on Rast they might be able to get their supplies and go with no one the wiser that they were Saiyans or that there was a wanted man with them. On the other hand, the Rastians might decide not to kill them just because Gohan was wanted and choose to thumb their (figurative – Rastians did not have noses) nose at the Saiyan king instead.

Raditz guided the ship gently down to the densely forested ground. There was not any other place to land that would not give away their species – everyone knew that the Arcosians and the Saiyans had formed a partnership years ago. Bardock only hoped that no Rastian had noticed them. Gohan refused to use his Instantaneous Movement technique to go anywhere other than different areas of Kanassa-sei. The boy did not want to accidentally land them all in the middle of space. Saiyans they may have been, but even they could not survive in a cold vacuum for very long.

"Ready to go, Granddad?" Gohan asked from behind him. After Gohan had returned from his lessons with Shin (whoever the hell he was – Bardock still could not get any information about the mysterious person), the boy had shortened "grandfather" to "granddad" despite all of said man's protestations. Gohan was not in quite as much danger since he did not have a tail, so he was definitely on the "to go" list. Raditz, whose power had increased dramatically in the two years since they had left Vegeta-sei, was coming with them as well. It was the first time that he was allowed to come along and he was acting like a kid on a sugar-high because he was so excited.

"Ready when you are kid," Bardock responded. "Raditz, calm down and put your tail under your shirt so no one sees it. As long as we're careful, no one will find out that we're Saiyans." He tucked his own tail underneath his clothes as well and hoped that he was right.

***

Everything went wrong during the middle of their trip. They were making their way towards a stall that sold all sort of meat when someone yelled behind them.

"SAIYANS!"

All three of them looked around like they were looking for the aforementioned Saiyans, but every face was turned towards them. "How did they know?" Bardock asked softly. Gohan shrugged, but Raditz suddenly dropped to the ground, rolling with laughter. Startled, grandfather and grandson watched the teenager continue to laugh for a few seconds before Bardock got fed up. Grasping his son by the back of his shirt, he demanded, "What are you laughing at?"

"Your tail!" Raditz choked out, trying to control himself. "You're letting your tail wave around like an idiot! And you thought that _I_ was going to be the one to mess it up!"

Gohan could not help himself and snorted in amusement, a smirk crossing his lips. Bardock glared at him. "Traitor," he hissed, a hint of red crossing his cheeks. It was hard to see against his tan skin, but he was definitely blushing.

The hybrid lost it. Even as he gave into his hilarity, however, he could feel a powerful force quickly moving towards them. It was powerful enough that he might even have to use the second level transformation in order to defeat it. It was not worrisome by any stretch of the imagination; if anything, Gohan was excited. He might be able to get an actual fight out of this. Definitely not something that happened every day.

The punch came so quickly that Gohan only just dodged it. He scowled. "Hey!" he complained. "Why are you going after me? I'm just a kid!"

The person who had attacked him looked at him incredulously. "You are the strongest fighter," he explained condescendingly. Then he added, "Even if your power is still far below mine."

Gohan scowled even harder at the person's words. He hated it when people talked down to him like that! This guy, whoever he was, was going down! Powering up into Super Saiyan effortlessly, he took advantage of the Rastian's surprise and nailed him in the jaw, sending the green man flying back from the force of the blow. He smirked as the man stood up a bit shakily and regarded him with surprise. "What was that about my power being below yours?" Gohan taunted. Sparring with his grandfather and uncle had taught him that goading the enemy could be amusing.

The Rastian growled softly and launched himself at the demi-Saiyan with more speed than Gohan had anticipated. Gohan barely managed to block the furious blows, but soon regained his bearings and started slipping in his own attacks. They both launched into the air, still trading hits at fast speeds.

On the ground, Bardock and Raditz watched in ill-concealed excitement as the two adversaries battled it out in front of them. They had never seen Gohan go all out in a fight despite the fact that they had spent two years training together. Though both of their power levels had increased greatly, they were still not much of a match for Gohan even when they double-teamed him. It was no wonder that they were so excited to see this fight.

"Gohan might have to go all the way to beat this guy!" Raditz said incredulously as he felt the unknown fighter's power. Gohan had taught both of them how to sense power levels the first chance he had, saying that the technique was much more accurate than scouters were. Bardock glanced at his son but did not reply, focusing on the battle now raging above his head instead.

Back in the air, Gohan leaned back to avoid the roundhouse kick to his head and answered with a series of jabs to the man's stomach, all but one missing the target. However, that one punch was able to buy the teen enough time to back away from his enemy and try to catch his breath. The Rastian was apparently thinking along the same lines as Gohan as he made no move to go after him.

"So, do I get to know the name of the person trying to kill me?" Gohan asked lightly, grabbing the upper part of his arm when it throbbed in pain.

The alien studied him for a moment. "My name is Pikkon," he replied. "I have never met a Saiyan with enough power to give me a challenge, especially not one so young. Who are you?"

"I'm Gohan," the teen replied. Pikkon's eyes widened. This _child_ was the infamous Gohan? The one that half the universe was looking for thanks to the 50,000 som bounty on his head after he had supposedly committed treason? Well, that explained why he and his companions had landed here then. People would be looking for him on practically every other planet. Here, he was no different from any other Saiyan.

"What did you do to have that high a price on your head?" the Rastian asked curiously. There had been no description of the act of treason accompanying the message that the Saiyans had sent out across the universe.

Gohan shrugged, watching him warily. "The king tried to send me on a purge and I said no," he said simply. "He's still throwing a tantrum about it." Surprise flickered across the other's features, but Gohan ignored it. He shifted back into his normal fighting stance, a unique conglomeration of his father's and Piccolo's own stances. "Shall we continue?"

Pikkon smirked. Taking off his hat, belt, and robe, he rolled them up into a ball and let them drop to the ground where they left an impressive crater. Gohan raised an eyebrow. "You train with weights," he observed. "You'll be a lot faster now." A slow smile crossed his face. "This should be interesting."

***

The battle had been going on for a while now. Raditz and Bardock were as enthralled now as they had been at the beginning. To see two such people go head-to-head with each other was exhilarating for them. Gohan and Pikkon were moving at incredible speeds, so fast that no one on the ground could keep up for very long. A flash of a ki blast here and a gust of sudden wind there were about all that indicated their position.

Suddenly, the two fighters stopped. They were both breathing heavily, but both looked like they were having the time of their lives, Gohan in particular. The demi-Saiyan was grinning recklessly, but there was a glint in his eyes that Pikkon was wary of when he noticed it. It appeared every time the child pulled another trick out of his bag. What was he planning now? The Rastian knew that he himself was nearly tapped out and hoped that Gohan did not have anything else up his sleeve. If it had anything to do with that thrice-be-damned disappearing act, the alien was sure that he would be done for.

"Fun as this has been, Pikkon," Gohan called, "I think it needs to end." Pikkon eyed the teen suspiciously; what did he mean by that?

His answer came in the form of Gohan's energy flaring up to impossible heights. "What the –" the Rastian gasped out, but he did not finish. Suddenly Gohan, who had previously been a good hundred feet away from him, appeared right in front of him, electricity crackling around him as he hit the alien hard enough to make him see stars.

Poor Pikkon never had a chance after that; Gohan pummeled him into unconsciousness easily. The deed done, he picked the knocked-out alien up and flew towards the onlookers who had followed their battle as it progressed across the city. The Rastians shrank away from him and did not go near their injured brother until Gohan laid Pikkon down and rejoined his grandfather and uncle.

"I… I don't understand," said the Rastian closest to the three Saiyans. "Why didn't you kill him? Why haven't you killed us?" Gohan turned to look at the man.

"We came here for supplies, not to start a fight," he replied derisively, powering down. "I'm already on the run from half the universe, so why would I let everyone know where I was by killing you all?" He turned to face Bardock and Raditz, both of whom were glaring at the man who dared to question their honor.

"Let's go, Gohan," Raditz said contemptuously. "We have all the supplies that we need." Gohan nodded and the three began walking away from the confused crowd.

"W-Wait." Pikkon's weak voice came drifting to their ears and Gohan turned around. The Rastian was leaning hard on one of his comrades, but seemed to be at least semi-alive.

"Sorry, Pikkon," Gohan said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard."

Pikkon smirked painfully. "I'll be fine," he replied, attempting to straighten up. "You are welcome to come here to gather more supplies whenever you wish." The three Saiyans blinked. This was an unexpected turn of events.

"Er… thank you," the demi-Saiyan said awkwardly. "But why?"

"We dislike the Saiyans for their disregard of life," Pikkon explained. "But you hold it in high enough regard that you told even your king that you would not purge planets for him. That alone allows you to come and go on this planet as you please."

Gohan bowed to him, falling back on the half-forgotten lessons of courtesy his mother had taught him in the wake of his thankfulness. Pikkon's offer meant that they would not have to dodge bounty hunters and the like while they bought supplies.

"Thank you," he said again. Pikkon inclined his head slightly and the three Saiyans turned to leave. "If you ever want to spar, just let me know!" Gohan called over his shoulder. "It's a better work-out than fighting these two blockheads!" Bardock cuffed him on the head and Raditz shoved him forward for the remark. The Rastians watched them go, all trying to hide their amusement as Gohan continued to taunt his grandfather and uncle.

***

Piccolo watched his former rival from his place on the Lookout. Nearly two years had passed since Gohan had disappeared. Watching his rival suffer had been sweet revenge for the first few months, but after that, his anger had faded. The Namekian knew that he was also to blame for Gohan's disappearance. If he had not started training the boy in the first place, this never would have happened.

The Namekian heaved a sigh, finally deciding to forgive Goku for his stupidity. Everyone in their little band had known that, realistically, only one of the Saiyans could defeat Cell and acted accordingly. They were really all to blame, putting their fates in the hands of Saiyans, even the one who was still a child. Sighing again, Piccolo floated off the ground and flew towards Goku. After all, he had said that he would go to Goku, not the other way around.

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	14. Interlude: Goku

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 14: Interlude - Goku**

It's been two years since Gohan disappeared. King Kai still doesn't know where he went. Apparently even the Grand Kai, whoever that is, doesn't know where he is. How could my son just completely disappear out of existence? He isn't in the Otherworld, he isn't here, he isn't anywhere. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was in a different time. It sounds impossible even with knowing Mirai Trunks, but then again, I live in a world where humans can fly without wings, people ride on fluffy yellow clouds, and dragons come out of seven little golden balls. I should stop being surprised at things that happen around our circle of friends. It seems that nothing is impossible. Not anymore.

I can hear Chi-Chi washing the dishes and talking to Goten. Goten, my second son. We hadn't planned to have another child so soon after Gohan's disappearance, but we didn't have a choice. Chi-Chi was already two months along at the end of the Cell Games and killing the baby wasn't an option, had never been an option. When she told me that she was pregnant… I think that I'd sensed it before she told me, but I'm pretty sure that I'd been ignoring it, hoping to God that it wasn't what I thought it was. I was wrong, of course. But it was for the best, really. If it wasn't for Goten, I don't think that Chi-Chi would have had the will to keep on living. I know that she loves me, but Gohan was the center of her life. Without him, she acted like she didn't have a purpose.

Goten. He reminds me so much of myself already. He's the spitting image of what I looked and acted like as a child, even at two years old. He's always happy, carefree, and foolhardy, almost the exact opposite of Gohan. Gohan was much more… somber, even as a little boy. Maybe it was all the studying that Chi-Chi made him do. Or maybe it was because his daddy was an idiot who spent four, almost five years away from his only son. Maybe it was because his daddy pushed him further than he should have had to go when he was eleven. Maybe it was because his daddy could only see his son's potential and not the lonely little boy underneath the mask. I forgot that he was a child and treated him like a warrior.

I can't do that to Goten. I won't.

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	15. Tale of a Tail

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 15: Tale of a Tail**

It had been just over three years since Gohan, Bardock, and Raditz had first visited Planet Rast. In those three years, Bardock's power had increased to a little bit stronger than what Gohan had been before his training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. This was due to the fact that three out of every five training sessions ended with him in the rejuvenation tank. Privately, Gohan thought that his grandfather was too much like Vegeta when it came to increasing his strength – Bardock wanted to get stronger no matter what the cost to himself.

Raditz's strength had increased as dramatically as his father's had, though his training was quite different. Bardock was too old to change the way he trained, or so he said, but Raditz never had a set training regimen before what he had dubbed "the exile." Thanks to this, Gohan was able to impress on him the importance of giving himself a break once in a while. So while Bardock was busy recuperating in the tank, Gohan and Raditz were busy eating, sleeping, or making fun of each other. The last was something that never failed to keep both of them amused. And with Gohan's voice deepening and breaking every other sentence, Raditz never ran out of ammunition to torture the poor teenager with.

But every so often, even Bardock recognized his need to rest and stop training for a bit. Or perhaps more accurately, Gohan and Raditz refused to have anything to do with him if the activity even remotely resembled the martial arts. Bardock would try to train alone, but it was not as beneficial as getting the stuffing beaten out of him by Gohan. So he would sit around and wonder what to do with himself until one of the boys – he still called them "boys" despite the fact that Raditz was twenty-one and Gohan was sixteen – roped him into doing something that they considered to be "fun."

Today was one of those days. However, Bardock actually _did_ have something to do today – he had not even looked at plans for the new and improved False Moon technique in over a year. He had been stumped on how to increase the amount of Bruits Waves coming off the false moon and had gotten so frustrated that he had not done anything since. But yesterday, while he had been stuck in the rejuvenation tank for what seemed like the billionth time, he had suddenly stumbled upon the answer. He was ready to beat himself up all over again for not thinking of it before.

It was so _simple_! The problem did not lie in how many waves per minute there were. The problem was how weak the waves themselves were! The man looked over the plans, changing some equations and symbols before running out of the ship and telling his son to go to the other side of the planet so he would not be caught by the enhanced waves. Bardock knew how to control his Oozaru form, but Raditz had not ever been in his without going completely berserk. Though Gohan could take them almost anywhere with his Instantaneous Movement, the oldest Saiyan preferred to keep their ship intact.

Still marveling at his success, Bardock immediately began the complex work of unraveling the technique and putting it back together again with the new algorithms among the old. It took him a solid two hours to finish the work, but by the end of it he was almost jumping up and down he was so excited. Unconsciously holding his breath, he called the white ball of energy into his hand and threw it into the air, watching as it expanded much more quickly than it had before the improvements.

The transformation lasted barely longer than five seconds. Bardock looked down from the impressive height he attained while an Oozaru and rejoiced silently (he did not want to accidently roast the ship with a blast from his mouth!). He had done it! This would be a huge help in battles where the enemy overwhelmed him. Well, as long as the enemy was not Saiyan, at any rate.

Suddenly a pained yell cleaved the air in two. If the giant ape could have paled, he would have.

He had forgotten about Gohan.

***

Gohan was meditating in a clearing not far from the ship. For some time now, there had been a disturbance in his power. It kept fluctuating wildly and he had a hard time controlling it. He often fell out of the second level while training, but sometimes he even dropped out of Super Saiyan altogether. After being stuck in the rejuvenation tank for the second time in as many days, he put a halt to any and all training that he was part of, electing instead to find out what was wrong with his control of his power instead. He had been out here for the past week, meditating almost the entire time.

Only now did the demi-Saiyan have an idea of what was going on. Just as his father and Vegeta instinctively knew that there was a second level, Gohan knew that there was something beyond what he had already attained. Every time he teetered on the edge of ascending, the energy that the transformation needed drained his power to the point where it was difficult to hold on to even the regular Super Saiyan level, let alone the second. He knew he had to reach this new level, but it seemed that he had hit a snag. How could his increase his power if the change guzzled up all of it and then some?

Gohan's grandfather's ki caught his attention. It was spiking excitedly, if a little erratically. Wondering what on earth the man was so keyed up about and knowing that there was not much he could do about his problem right now, he decided to go back to the ship and find out what was going on. He took off on foot, not trusting his ki enough to fly just yet.

The teenager was nearly there when he caught sight of his grandfather. A ball of energy floated in Bardock's hand for a few seconds before he threw it up into the air. The light exploded into a huge white orb and the man suddenly transformed into an Oozaru. The transformation was much too quick to be caused by a regular False Moon; he must have enhanced the original somehow. Gohan was not worried though. Without a tail, the moon would not have an effect on him.

Suddenly, pain shot through his whole body and he let out a scream. Dropping to his knees, he doubled over, hands over his mouth to muffle any more signs of weakness. A corner of his pain-ridden mind dimly noticed the sound of cloth ripping and the shouts of someone running to him.

It ended as quickly as it started. The pain was cut off cleanly except for a dull ache in his lower back. Breathing heavily, Gohan did not hear Bardock's worried voice at first.

"…Gohan? Damn it, Gohan, answer me! Are you all right?" The teen gradually became aware that Bardock had taken him by the shoulders and started shaking him.

"G-Granddad?" Gohan finally replied. "What happened?"

Bardock let out a sigh of relief. "Good, you're okay," he said instead. Gohan shook his head blearily and painfully got to his feet only to flail around and fall flat on his face. "Ow…" he said intelligently, muffled by the ground. Bardock chuckled and lifted his grandson to his feet.

"Careful there, Gohan," the man teased gently. "You have an extra limb to get used to again."

Gohan blinked at him, confused, before craning his neck over his shoulder. A furry brown tail waved at him. He blinked again. "That's nice," he said faintly, and passed out.

The demi-Saiyan regained consciousness in the familiar viscous liquid of a rejuvenation tank. Raditz was lounging around on the couch and saw him wake up. He jumped up and shut the tank down, letting all the fluid drain out before opening the hatch. The first clear thing Gohan saw was an evil grin on his uncle's face.

"So Gohan, I heard that you passed out," the older man taunted. "Did you fall over and hit your head on a rock?" Gohan scowled and lunged for Raditz's neck only to fall on his face again. Raditz burst out laughing at the graceless move. Gohan carefully got to his feet, wrapping his tail around his waist like his relatives did as he eyed the man.

"Raditz, when I get used to this, I'm going to kill you!" the hybrid growled, complete with threatening glare. It would have been intimidating had his voice not cracked on the word "kill" and ruined the whole image. Raditz only laughed harder. Recognizing that he was fighting a losing battle, Gohan gathered the remaining shreds of his dignity and stalked away to find some new clothes, ignoring Raditz's hysterics.

***

"Granddad, what does a Saiyan's tail actually do?" Gohan ventured curiously a few days later. They were in the middle of yet another spar, though this one was less brutal than usual to help the teen acclimate to the presence of his tail.

Bardock raised an eyebrow at the question. "The most obvious thing is that it's the key to transforming into the Oozaru," he began, dodging a few punches. "It probably gave you a boost in power, so you'll have to find out." He answered the attack with his own, kicking out and forcing Gohan back. "But it's also what causes a Saiyan to go into heat." At the word "heat," Gohan faltered, his face turning bright red. Bardock nailed him in the jaw and sent the teenager flying backwards.

"Come on, boy!" the older man chided. "You've been living with us for five years and you still get embarrassed if one of us mentions sex? Pathetic."

Gohan scowled at him. "It wasn't exactly a topic for small talk on Earth," he retorted. "All I knew about it was what I happened to see on Roshi's 'aerobics videos'." Bardock rolled his eyes.

"Well, get over it," the man ordered his grandson. Lunging at the teen, he continued, "A Saiyan goes into heat every five years or so until they find a mate. Any Saiyan who doesn't have a tail doesn't go into heat. The first heat normally occurs around eighteen, but I'm not sure how it will affect you since you're only half Saiyan. I'm sure you remember when Raditz went into heat." Bardock was the one to be hit this time. He plowed into the ground near the ship, but shot straight back into the battle. It was on now!

The Saiyan landed a punch while Gohan was distracted. The demi-Saiyan was probably remembering the terror that Raditz had been for a week. "Other than that, the tail is just for looks. It's sensitive though, as I'm sure you know. A person can cause great pain or great pleasure depending on how they handle it. I wouldn't recommend letting anyone getting a hold on it if I were you." As he said this, he managed to grasp Gohan's tail, which had uncurled from its place around his waist and was loosely hanging behind him.

Gohan immediately dropped from his Super Saiyan transformation to his original form. "Let go!" he demanded. "That's not fair! I don't grab your tail!"

"I don't let mine hang behind me in a battle either," Bardock retorted unsympathetically. His grip tightened and Gohan ground his teeth together instead of yelling like he wanted to. 'Come on, Gohan, think!' he thought furiously. 'You can get out of this!' But no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not get his grandfather's grip on the appendage loose. The hybrid ground his teeth together even more. 'Just ignore the pain,' he thought desperately. 'You're only half Saiyan. It doesn't affect you as badly as if you were a full one. Overcome it!'

Finally, it became too much for the teenager and he let out a yell, letting all the power he had left come to the surface. It skyrocketed higher than it had ever been before as he blasted through the two levels he had mastered so long ago. Bardock dropped the tail in shock and backed away from this newest phenomenon, but Gohan did not notice, too busy trying to control his power and feed it into the transformation he could feel but had not yet reached.

At first, it seemed like nothing was happening. But slowly, very slowly, the golden hair began to lengthen, the brow bone began to protrude, the green eyes darkened to teal. Soon, Gohan's hair was as long as Raditz's. His eyebrows had completely disappeared, but his brow more than made up for the loss with as much as it had grown. Even his tail had changed colors; once a dark brown, it was now as golden as his hair. Bardock gaped at his grandson in shock as the teen fell to one knee, breathing heavily.

"I… I did it…" Gohan gasped out. "I finally… did it…" He abandoned kneeling and just sat down instead. It did not take long before he regressed all the way back to his base form. When he finally caught his breath, he looked up at Bardock, who was still gaping. "It takes way too much energy to maintain," he said disappointedly. "I'll have to work on staying in it for longer than a minute before I can even think about sparring with it." A smirk suddenly crossed his face. Bardock blinked.

"What?" he asked suspiciously.

"Can you imagine what Raditz's hair would be like if he could do this?"

Bardock collapsed in laughter.

***

"Mama, who's that?" Goten asked, pointing at a picture on the wall. Chi-Chi looked at the picture of Gohan sitting on a tree limb and had to stifle a sob even after almost five years. She schooled her features into what she hoped was a passable imitation of a smile and picked her four-year-old up, grunting slightly at his weight. His small hand reached out and traced the curve of Gohan's smiling face.

"That's your brother, Goten," she said softly. "That's Gohan."

The little boy looked confused. "Why isn't he here with us?" he demanded.

"Sweetie, Gohan had to go away before you were born," Chi-Chi said, trying to explain what had happen without confusing her youngest child and reopening the barely healed scars in her heart. "He'll come back someday, Goten, and when he does I'm sure that he'll want to play with you all day long."

Goten gazed at her face before patting it slightly. "Okay," he replied. "Can I go color now?" Chi-Chi put him down and he ran off to the table where his abandoned crayons and coloring book lay. The woman sighed, putting a hand to her head. She was glad that her son had such a short attention span. One day she and Goku would sit Goten down and explain what had happened to Gohan, but until then, it was nice to see him not worry about anything other than coloring in the lines.

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	16. Interlude: Vegeta

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 16: Interlude - Vegeta**

It's been five years since Kakarotto's brat disappeared.

I was annoyed to find how much the brat's disappearance actually affected me. I tried to brush it off as merely losing a potential sparring partner at first. After all, the kid had more power in his little finger than I did in my whole body, painful though it was to admit that fact. But when Kakarotto was wished back to life, I had my sparring partner back. And yet, I was still bothered by the brat's continued absence.

Then I decided that it was because he was one of the last Saiyans left in the galaxy. It would be natural to be weighed down by the fact that one's race is one step closer to complete annihilation, wouldn't it? It wasn't long before I came to find that I wasn't nearly as bothered by this inevitable truth as I thought I was. To be honest, I barely remember anything about them anymore. I didn't spend much time around Saiyans other than Nappa and on the odd occasion Raditz. But I would never let anyone know that I'm forgetting about my heritage. Not even Bulma.

I was more than a bit disturbed to realize that I actually _missed_ the brat. We were more alike than I wanted to admit. He was forced to grow up much too early, like I was. He had to fight, to _kill_, at far too young an age. He wasn't purging planets at age five like I was, but killing a living, breathing being, even an evil one, has effects, not many of them good. Look how I turned out, after all. Very few people become quite as jaded and cynical as I did, even considering all that I went through.

I didn't want him to become like me. I actually _respected_ the brat for staying as naïve and childish as he did. And when he ascended to the second level, my respect only grew, even if my jealousy did as well. After all, I was the Prince of Saiyans. It wasn't right that a mere half-breed brat could ascend so much higher than I. I should be the one with the most power.

Gohan has been the only person that I've apologized to. I know he thought that I was only saying it because we were all about to die, but it wasn't true. I knew that almost all of what had happened in the past ten days was my fault. I could have easily killed him in his second form, but instead I chose to let my pride lead us to that battlefield where my most hated rival and his son both, to all intents and purposes, died.

I will not let that happen again. I let Frieza transform to show him that no matter what he did he could never hope to beat me and it cost me my life. I allowed that damned Dr. Gero to activate Androids 17 and 18 so I could show him that I could defeat those tin cans easily. I was humiliated in front of most of the fighters I considered allies. I agreed to let Cell absorb Android 18 so I could prove I was the best. I was beaten almost effortlessly. I cannot let that happen again. I must learn to swallow my pride.

It will be a hard lesson to learn, but I'm sure I can do it. After all, I _am_ the Prince of Saiyans.

…damn, it seems that doing this will be harder than I thought.

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	17. Evil Tidings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 17: Evil Tidings**

Two years later, Gohan still struggled to obtain control over the third form. He was lengthening the amount of time he could stay in it, but it was hard to divide his concentration between maintaining the form and fighting. If he was not fighting he could stay at the third level for nearly thirty minutes, but if he was fighting then fifteen was the longest he could go before dropping the transformation. He had been stuck at those times for nearly three months and he could not seem to make any more progress. It was really starting to get to him.

Gohan was not the only one frustrated though. Bardock had reached that point as well. His power level was much higher than what Gohan's had been when he was able to ascend, but the man still could not become a Super Saiyan. His grandson said that he just did not have the right trigger. Apparently even the memory of seeing his team slaughtered like animals was not enough to push him over the edge.

"Vegeta didn't transform because he lost something," Gohan reminded him one particularly maddening day. "I still don't understand how it happened, but from what I can tell he just gave up and didn't care anymore." Bardock gave up for a few days on the off chance that it might work. It did not.

Raditz did not worry about attaining the Super Saiyan level. Although it would be amazing if he did, it was not a priority for him like it was for his father. His love was science, not fighting, and he had advanced far beyond the sixteen-year-old who had no clue where the tracker on a ship was. He had learned much during the seven years they had been on Kanassa-sei and the occasional voyage for supplies and was now as proficient at fixing machinery and inventing things as Bardock was, perhaps even more so. He had even managed to build a second rejuvenation tank and enhance it a bit, speeding up the process a few minutes.

Raditz's next project was the communication link embedded in the ship. It had stopped working about a week ago. They did not really need it – after all, the only person who ever contacted them was Tarek and the last time he had contacted them was over three years ago, to tell the three of them that the records of Kakarotto's mission had somehow been "accidentally" erased – but Raditz needed something to do to occupy himself until his father and nephew dragged their sorry carcasses back to the ship and begged to be put in the rejuvenation tanks. They had been out training for three days straight with no food or water and only the bare minimum of sleep.

It was strange how much Gohan had changed, Raditz thought as he clipped some wires. Aside from learning how to control the second level, in the beginning of their "exile" he had not wanted to train much, instead electing to read or to learn about the technology on the ship. He would spar with either Bardock or Raditz if requested, but he would never volunteer. As time passed, however, training began to take precedence over everything else more and more. After attaining yet another level of Super Saiyan, the hybrid had abandoned all pretense of being interested in anything else. He was not as fanatical about it as Bardock was (and to be honest Raditz was sure that no one could be as fanatical as his father), but he definitely took it more seriously than before. When grandfather and grandson really went at it, Raditz would have to go get their bodies and stick them into the rejuvenation tanks more often than not. Just like every time before this, he was waiting for the telltale explosion that let him know the fight was over and done with so he could haul them back.

Static began to crackle through the speaker and Raditz, startled out of his reverie, frowned at the sound. He had fixed the audio portion of the link, so why was it so bad? Nothing like this had ever happened – when it had gone out before, it had been immediately. Maybe the waves were going through an asteroid storm or something, he thought. After fiddling with a few knobs, he was able to receive a garbled message.

"…_ock…return…Vegeta-sei…Cold attack…return…_"

An icy hand clamped around Raditz's chest. Although the message was barely understandable, the gist of it was perfectly clear: King Cold was attacking Vegeta-sei. Out of the entire Saiyan race, only the youngest one on Kanassa-sei was capable of killing Frieza, and King Cold was much stronger than his son could ever hope to be. He stood there for a few shocked seconds before racing out of the ship towards the miniature explosions and the relatives who were causing them.

***

Raditz slumped over the controls of the ship, exhausted. They had left for Vegeta-sei a day and a half ago. When Raditz had gone to tell Bardock and Gohan about the message, he found their beaten bodies laying several feet from each other. Unable to move, the two could only listen in shock as he told them what the message had said before Bardock demanded that he "carry our asses to the rejuvenation tanks so we can beat the hell out of Cold." The extent of damage done to Gohan's body meant that he could not use his Instantaneous Movement technique, which was why they were taking the ship. And with his father and nephew still in the tanks (the tanks had never taken this long before – what kind of training had they been doing anyway?), Raditz could not afford to rest in case some bounty hunter decided to take a pot shot at them while en route to Vegeta-sei.

The man stood up and stretched in an effort to keep himself awake before going over to the controls to the tanks. "Looks like Father is nearly done," he observed aloud. Being left alone for days at a time gave him the habit of talking to himself out loud to break the silence. Bardock called it crazy. Raditz called it necessary; if he did not break the silence, he _would_ go crazy.

A few minutes later, a soft chime rang in the air, signaling the end of the cycle for Bardock's tank. Raditz pressed the button to open the hatch and gave his father a towel and some clothing. The younger Saiyan sat back down at the controls to the ship while the elder dried himself off and got dressed.

"You look like shit," Bardock greeted as he came up behind his son.

Raditz scowled at him. "You would too if you'd stayed up for the past day making sure that no one came after us while you two were in hibernation," he snapped irritably. Bardock frowned and looked back at Gohan, who was still floating in the tank, to all appearances oblivious to the outside world.

"I didn't think he'd be out this long," the man said, sounding concerned.

"What were you guys doing anyway?" Raditz queried, curiosity overcoming any lingering annoyance.

Bardock shrugged. "Fighting," he replied simply. When his son scowled at him again, he grinned slightly. "We were trying to extend the length of time he could stay in the third form. He was able to stay there for almost twenty minutes this time. The longest he's ever been in it while fighting has been about fifteen minutes, so this is a huge improvement. But it definitely took its toll on him if he's still in there." He went over to look at how much longer Gohan would be stuck in the tank and blinked in surprise. The teenager already been in there for nearly a day and a half and yet he would still be in there for another six hours at the least.

Raditz's voice broke through his thoughts. "I'm going to take a nap now," his son said, yawning. "Wake me up when we get close to Vegeta-sei." Bardock nodded and Raditz went up the stairs to the next level, intent on getting to his bed.

When the younger man had disappeared, Bardock slumped slightly. During his stint in the tank, he had been able to think over the message's words (or what Raditz had understood, anyway). King Cold was attacking the Saiyans and Tarek wanted them to come back and save everyone. That was obvious enough. Truth be told, Bardock had been waiting for a message like this for the duration of their exile. Why had Cold waited to avenge Frieza's death for seven years though? It made no sense; he could not even conjure up a bad reason, let alone a good one.

Bardock glanced over at Gohan again. According to the charts, the ship was less than a day away from Vegeta-sei and Gohan still had at least six hours to go in the rejuvenation tank. King Cold was even stronger than Frieza had been. Although Bardock and Raditz were much stronger than they had been seven years ago, they were still no match for the evil tyrant in power. He probably would not be damaged even if father and son tag-teamed against him. Gohan was the only one who would be able to defeat him, but he would not be able to do anything if he was still hooked up to the blasted tank.

'Come on, Gohan,' the man thought, eyes locked on his grandson's face. 'We're going to need all the help we can get.'

Several hours later, Bardock floated above the remains of what used to be Vegeta-sei, wearing a special suit designed to protect the wearer while in space. A ship he did not recognize was in front of him, while the _Inaesia_ stayed behind him. He could see King Cold standing behind the glass separating the inside of his ship from the vacuum of space around. Raditz was behind him, while Gohan was in the last stage of the healing cycle inside the rejuvenation tank.

"Father, it's too late!" Raditz yelled. "We can't save anyone! We have to leave!" His words fell on deaf ears. Bardock shook in fury as he looked down upon the last vestiges of his home planet. Flashes of his past went through his head at the speed of light. He had fought alongside many of those people during the war between the Saiyans and Vegeta-sei's original inhabitants. He remembered the thrill of finally overcoming the enemy the night of the full moon. He remembered building his own home, remembered bringing Raditz to that same house the night he was born. Remembered seeing Kakarotto lying in his bed in the nursery screaming his lungs out, remembered watching his son's ship disappear into space as it headed for Earth. Remembered meeting Gohan, remembered getting the hell beat out of him in the first spar they ever had, remembered escaping the planet with the only family he had left.

"That…that monster," he ground out. A memory of his team celebrating a particularly difficult purge in the bar, then a second of them slaughtered and left to rot crossed his mind.

He snapped.

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	18. Goal Attained

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Goal Attained**

Bardock let out a scream of pain and rage. The Cold Empire had gone too far! First they practically enslaved the Saiyans, then his team was murdered on Frieza's orders, then Cold destroyed Vegeta-sei. Bardock had finally had enough. He was going to take down those bastards once and for all.

As the man screamed louder, electricity began to spark around his form. His bluish-white aura slowly darkened to a golden yellow. His hair turned the same color as his aura and stood on end. His eyes changed to a pupil-less green and the fur on his tail became golden as well. His form bulked up considerably, nearly tearing the protective suit he was wearing.

Raditz watched the transformation from a distance. He had seen Gohan transform many times to all three levels, but seeing his father achieve the goal he had been working towards for so long was an amazing, if humbling, experience. He only hoped that the man would be able to control himself enough to the point that he would just destroy King Cold's ship and everyone on it instead of drawing the fight out. Seeing Bardock's eyes simmer with rage even from this distance, he doubted the fight would be over too quickly.

Bardock glared at the ship and the person responsible for the destruction. He could not hear his son begging him to end it now – even if he could, he would not listen. The need to destroy King Cold completely dominated his thoughts, the haze of anger and pain drowning out everything else. With another yell, he charged at the tyrant's ship, a golden avenger amidst the ruins of his planet. He blasted straight through the thin sheet of glass separating him from his enemy and landed a furious kick right in the monster's midsection. King Cold doubled over in pain, purple blood dribbling from his lips as his soldiers and crew were sucked out into the emptiness of space.

Bardock did not give the tyrant the chance to defend himself. Linking his hands together, the Saiyan brought them down on Cold's head, sending him down through the levels of his ship and out the bottom. Bardock raced after him, shooting out of the ship just as it started to implode. King Cold could only watch in horror as his ride was completely destroyed thanks to whomever it was that was currently beating the living daylights out of him. Was this the same person who had killed Frieza?

King Cold had waited to avenge his son's murder. He had let those filthy Saiyans live this long only because they were still useful to him. They purged planets on their own, letting Cold go on with his own agenda while he bided his time. A few months ago, he had stumbled across the remnants of a warrior race even stronger than the Saiyans and had hired them at once. Then he directed his ship to Vegeta-sei, taking his time. He had waited seven years for this day – a few more months would make no difference.

The tyrant could practically smell their fear the moment his ship had appeared on their radar. They all knew that there was no one who could challenge his power. His crew jammed their communications, though not fast enough – a partial message had gotten through. As it had been sent to a planet that the files confirmed had already been purged (although not sold for one reason or another), Cold had not worried. Let them try to get help, he thought. It would not work. He obviously thought wrong, seeing as he was currently being beaten up by some golden warrior that he had no clue existed. As the person came after him, ready to land another punch, he managed to croak out, "Who are you?"

The figure chuckled darkly. "Isn't it obvious? I'm the one who's going to kill you."

***

The soft chime indicating the end of Gohan's time in the rejuvenation tank sounded. Barely a second later Gohan burst through the glass, too impatient to wait for it to release him and uncaring that Raditz would blow up at him afterward. He had felt his grandfather's power explode not two minutes earlier and knew that the man had finally reached the goal that had danced just out of reach for so long. Of course, now Gohan had to contend with a Super Saiyan enraged by the destruction of Vegeta-sei. Although he was more than strong enough to overpower Bardock, it was still not going to be fun.

Quickly shimmying into the third protective suit, Gohan raced through the ship out into space, ready to interfere with his grandfather's fight. Raditz, who had sensed him coming, raised an arm and blocked his path. "Don't," he ordered. "Let him do this." The teenager glanced at him curiously, but obeyed and floated next to his uncle. He winced as Bardock unleashed a particularly brutal attack on the dying tyrant.

"He's pissed," the teenager remarked, stating the obvious. "I wonder how much longer he'll be able to keep it up though."

Raditz blinked. "Huh?" he replied intelligently.

Gohan rolled his eyes. "The first transformation takes a lot out of you," he explained. "Granddad may be powerful, but a transformation of this magnitude will drain anyone who isn't used to it." He paused, watching the golden figure in the distance zipping around the not-as-visible form of King Cold. "It's not just physical either. Your anger becomes so overwhelming that you lose all sense of yourself. Any intense emotion tires out the mind. He's definitely going to be in the rejuvenation tank for a while after this is all over."

***

Bardock smiled grimly down at King Cold. Although the lower half of his body was completely gone along with an arm and one of his horns, the tyrant was still alive, if only barely. The newly anointed Super Saiyan pointed his hand in Cold's direction, palm facing outward. He was done playing around. It was time to end this game once and for all.

Cold's eyes were filled with hate and fear as he stared up at the Saiyan who had brought him to his (now metaphorical) knees. Bardock's smile morphed into a smirk at the sight, savoring the feeling of certain victory coursing through his veins as a ki ball came into being centimeters from his palm. The blast had enough energy in it to kill Cold and both of them knew it. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Bardock's smirk widened slightly.

"Goodbye."

***

Raditz pondered Gohan's words, turning them over in his mind until a bright flash of light pulled his attention back to the battle. Well, the end of it – Raditz couldn't feel the tyrant's energy anymore and his father was floating over King Cold's body. Bardock's energy was beginning to drop at an alarming rate; Raditz assumed that this was the crash that Gohan had meant. He made his way to his father and reached his side just as the man lost consciousness. The younger Saiyan hoisted the elder over his shoulder and went back to the ship.

Gohan watched him go inside before flying over to where King Cold's body floated. The demi-Saiyan was not convinced that the tyrant was actually dead just yet. After all, Frieza had survived for several days on the edge of death before his father had picked him out of the remains of Namek. Coming to a stop in front of Cold's remains, he powered up a huge blast and fired, disintegrating what was left of the body. With that taken care of, he flew back to the ship and arrived just in time to help his uncle put Bardock into the unbroken rejuvenation tank.

When the oldest Saiyan was comfortably situated, Raditz and Gohan both went up to the living quarters. Gohan, who had not bothered drying himself off or putting any clothes on when he had broken free of the tank, began the painstaking process of peeling the space suit from his body while Raditz looked on in amusement. The older Saiyan had half a mind to yell at his nephew for what he had done to the rejuvenation tank, but it was worth the broken glass to see Gohan suffering from his own stupidity!

Ignoring the older Saiyan's snickers, Gohan asked, "How long – ouch! – is Granddad going to be in there this – ow! – time?"

"About a day," Raditz replied, still sniggering. "We got him in the tank before all his power was depleted, and that helps a lot." Gohan scowled at him.

"You're acting like I don't know how a rejuvenation tank works," the demi-Saiyan growled, throwing a gi on.

"Are you sure you do?" Raditz taunted. When his nephew looked to be seriously considering hurting him, Raditz decided to quit while he was ahead and went back downstairs to the control panel. The video screens all showed various planetarial debris. The man grimaced. "I'm going to take us back to Kanassa-sei," he called up the stairs. "This place is too depressing."

Gohan came downstairs as well, frowning. Why was Raditz acting so… flippant? While it was true that there were still surviving Saiyans, Vegeta-sei had been destroyed entirely. His home planet was gone for good. Why had the man not completely lost it yet? It made no sense. "Raditz… you're acting like nothing's happened," he said confusedly. "Vegeta-sei is gone. Destroyed. It's not coming back. Why aren't you more, well…"

"Angry?" Raditz filled in. Gohan nodded mutely. Raditz sighed and finished punching in the course back to Kanassa-sei. He settled into the chair and Gohan sat down on the floor in front of him. For a moment, the elder Saiyan looked pensive.

"Gohan, I was sixteen when we had to leave Vegeta-sei," Raditz said finally. "I thought that we would be able to go back after a year, maybe two. I never thought that King Vegeta would still be so angry after seven years and that we wouldn't be able to come back after so long." He was quiet for a moment. "Remember when we were ambushed on Xuboh-sei?"

Memories filled Gohan's mind; that particular ambush had been a nasty one. In order to build the second rejuvenation tank, Raditz had needed some parts that were not sold on the planet Rast and were not on the _Inaesia_. True to Pikkon's word, Gohan, Raditz, and Bardock were welcome on the planet whenever they needed supplies. The Rastians had offered to send one of their own on a hunt for the parts, but the three Saiyans declined, afraid that if King Vegeta caught wind of the Rastians helping them he would order the planet purged. They instead headed to Xuboh-sei, a planet that Bardock knew had the required parts. The Saiyans had captured and purged this planet a few years beforehand and the new inhabitants allowed them to use the planet as a base to send fighters even further into the universe to purge more planets, only perpetuating the vicious cycle. The Saiyans there had somehow gotten wind of their arrival and prepared an ambush. Knowing of the trio's phenomenal strength and speed they had gathered the bulk of their fighters together, reasoning that their enemy could be overwhelmed with sheer numbers alone.

It had been a clever trap. The ringleaders had known about Gohan's ki-sensing ability and acted accordingly, placing weaker, slower fighters within an alarming distance and more powerful, faster ones at a non-threatening one. Surprisingly enough, it had worked; the three renegades had anticipated a small attack and so had not prepared themselves for a larger one. They had focused on the small group and completely ignored the large one heading straight towards them.

The battle that followed was a bloodbath. Gohan, Raditz, and Bardock had fought for hours, cutting down one fighter only to have two more take the fallen one's place. The ambush had been so sudden that Gohan had not been able to turn Super Saiyan for some time. When the demi-Saiyan discovered the fighters he had knocked out only a moment before coming at him again, even he had resorted to killing them. Gohan nodded, as much to confirm that he remembered as to rid his thoughts of the people he had killed and the blood he had spilt. He still did not like to kill, regardless if the person deserved it. Raditz nodded back and went on, eyes distant as he spoke.

"I'd been fighting for a long time. I don't remember how long. I still can't remember much of it. I don't know why, but I can't say that I'm annoyed by it. All I remember is the blood and the pain – and fighting Pinac." Gohan blinked.

"Who's Pinac?" the hybrid asked tentatively. Raditz tried to smirk, but it looked more like a grimace.

"He was my best friend," the elder Saiyan replied.

Gohan blinked, and blinked again. Raditz had fought his best friend during an ambush meant to kill them? "Your best friend fought against us on Xuboh-sei?" he asked dumbly.

Raditz laughed humorlessly. "He orchestrated the whole thing," he replied. "He told me so. He told me that if I would switch sides and fight with them against you and Father that he would make sure that I would stay alive. It was then that I lost faith in our race." He shook his head sadly. "Family is important even to a Saiyan," he went on. "We have – had strict laws about killing family members. That Pinac even suggested that I turn against you… I realized how far the Saiyans had fallen. I don't know if you've just rubbed off on me or if I realized it on my own." He offered his nephew a half-grin that was hesitantly returned. "Maybe it was because of the time that we served under Frieza, but the Saiyan race changed, and not for the better. At any rate, I killed Pinac. I considered him my best friend and he repaid my friendship with betrayal. I didn't consider Vegeta-sei my home or the Saiyans my people any longer after that."

Gohan was silent as he tried to absorb his uncle's story. The ambush had occurred several years ago, but this was the first time he had heard any of it. He had never thought about either Raditz or Bardock knowing the people who continued to attack them, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. And how had the man kept this bottled up inside him for so long? It had been what, four years ago? And Raditz had not said a word, continuing to train and tinker with his electronics instead.

Between him and Bardock, Raditz had had the most to lose when he left Vegeta-sei with them. Bardock had nothing that tied him to his home planet, especially following the loss of his team. Raditz, however, had a job, friends, and maybe even a social life. He did not have to come with his father and pseudo-nephew, but he did anyway.

Suddenly Gohan felt a great rush of affection and respect for his uncle. Standing up and stretching, he placed a hand on Raditz' shoulder. "Maybe Earth can become your home," he said softly. Raditz gave him a small but genuine smile.

"Maybe," he replied. Then he scowled at the teenager standing beside him. Startled by the change in mood, Gohan dropped his hand. "And if you ever tell anyone about this, I'll kick your ass, got it?" the older Saiyan threatened. Gohan could only nod in reply.

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	19. Big Rock

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 19: Big Rock**

Bardock lay listlessly on his bed, hands folded behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. Vegeta-sei's destruction and his overdue transformation to Super Saiyan had occurred several days ago and the three Saiyans had decided that they were going to go to Earth. Well, Raditz and Gohan had decided; Bardock had been in the same position ever since he had been released from the rejuvenation tank. Gohan easily recognized the symptoms of the "I reached my goal and have no clue what to do with my life" syndrome (something Piccolo had suffered from even after those six months of solitude while Gohan was in survival school) and left him alone for the most part. After Gohan explained what was happening, Raditz also let him do his own thing.

However, Gohan was only half-right. Although it was true that he felt empty and directionless after killing King Cold and achieving the legendary Super Saiyan transformation (studiously avoiding thinking about the event that triggered it or else risk transforming again and destroying the ship), Bardock was also mulling over Gohan's plan. Or, perhaps more specifically, that part of Gohan's plan that seemed to require Gohan to stay until Kakarotto became a Super Saiyan.

Why did Gohan need to stay? He, Bardock, was now a Super Saiyan. He could not control it yet, but Gohan was going to teach him how to transform at will after they got to Earth. To be honest, they really did not need the demi-Saiyan after that. The boy had described what had happened in the years that culminated with his forced journey through time. Bardock knew what the main events would be; he did not need to know all the minute details.

It was not that the Saiyan wanted his grandson to leave – far from it. The fact that Gohan was more powerful than he was and Raditz combined was barely a part of it; Gohan had affected him in more ways than one. Being around the almost excessively happy boy for seven years straight with only Raditz to temper him had resulted in what Bardock disgustedly referred to as "softening up." Oh, he was still sarcastic and rude – he was a Saiyan, after all – but he very rarely meant it to hurt anymore. And although being around his more stoic relatives had changed him as well (mostly that he actually enjoyed fighting now), Gohan had had much more of an effect on them than they did on him.

But even though he did not necessarily want Gohan to leave, Bardock knew that it was time for his grandson to go home. It started nearly two years ago, when every few months or so Gohan would spiral into a depression. He never said what was wrong and he always snapped out of it within a week, but both Bardock and Raditz knew that he was thinking about his family and friends that he had left behind. The problem was that he would view it as not finishing his task if he left now. He was bound and determined to stay and help Kakarotto become a Super Saiyan. How was Bardock supposed to get Gohan to agree to leave?

_I will tell you why Gohan must leave_.

Bardock sat up quickly, looking around for where the strange voice had come from.

_Fear not, Bardock_, the voice said, _I intend you no harm._

"Who are you?" the Saiyan demanded.

_I am the Supreme Kai, though you have heard me called Shin. I am the one who taught Gohan the Instantaneous Movement technique_.

Bardock blinked twice as the Kai's words sank in. This was the voice of the person who had taught his grandson that blasted technique? That technique was the bane of his life during spars with Gohan; it was the brat's favorite move to get out of a tight spot or to surprise him with one of his lovely Masenko blasts. He hated those too, but it was the Instantaneous Movement that made the surprise possible in the first place.

_I apologize for the annoyance_, the Supreme Kai said, amusement obvious in his voice. Then he grew serious. _I would come and speak to you face-to-face if I could, but Gohan would sense me and there is no need for him to see me once again. You are looking for a way to make Gohan go back to his own time, I believe_?

Bardock winced at how baldly it was stated, but nodded all the same before realizing that this Supreme Kai might not have been able to see it. "Yes," he replied.

_You want a purpose in your life again_, the Kai continued all too accurately. Bardock winced again. _You feel that with Gohan here you do not have one, especially with your recent attainment of Super Saiyan._

The Saiyan felt the need to defend himself. "That's true," he conceded, "but it's not just for me. He needs to go back. He misses his parents and his friends. Raditz and I are poor substitutes for people he grew up with. And it's not like he's from this time; as much as I… I care –" and he spat out the word; he was still a Saiyan and caring was _not_ in the dictionary! "– about him, he can't stay here forever."

_I know_, the Kai soothed hurriedly. _I know that it is not entirely for your sake that Gohan should go back to his own time. If anything, it is mostly for his sake. And there is a reason that Gohan needs to leave. Listen carefully Bardock. This is very important and you need to understand how your grandson's presence is affecting our timeline…_

***

A few hours later, Bardock's mind was still reeling from what the Supreme Kai had told him. The conversation had only taken about half an hour, but it had taken the Saiyan the rest of the time up until now to even begin to process it. According to the Supreme Kai, Gohan's presence in this timeline for seven years had changed things irreparably. What Gohan remembered about the future was practically useless for this timeline that had been created.

Time, the Supreme Kai explained, is like a river. Throw a stone (or a Saiyan) into the river and the water will never flow in quite the same way again, even if the stone is taken out again. The longer the stone stays in the river, the more the flow of the river changes. And of course, the bigger the stone, the bigger the change.

The Trunks from Gohan's original future had come back with the sole purpose of changing it. All said and done, he had been in the past not longer than fifteen days. (The two years in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, the Kai said, did not count because the Chamber was in another dimension entirely.) Had Trunks come back just to sightsee or something similar, the timeline would have gone on the way it should have, albeit with a few tiny differences. He was not in the past long enough to affect it more than slightly had it not been his intention in the first place.

Gohan, on the other hand, had not come back on purpose. He had changed things out of a desire to save the Saiyans (and to continue living), but he had not planned it. However, in his effort to make sure that events happened as they were supposed to, Gohan was actually doing more harm than good. Just like the stone in the river, the longer he stayed the more he changed the future of this time. Seven years had completely changed the future here – after all, Gohan was one hell of a big rock. The Kai had not known this before, but he had had ample time to discover what the presence of a previously non-existent being would do to the timeline.

"Wonderful," Bardock had replied sarcastically. "How the hell am I supposed to tell Gohan?"

The Supreme Kai's voice was just the slightest bit amused when he replied, _I am sure you will find a way_. And with that, his voice vanished. Now, two hours later, Bardock had abandoned his position on the bed to pace around the small space. He still had no clue how to explain all of this to Gohan. He had the feeling that saying "Hey Gohan, just wanted to let you know that all you're doing is screwing up the future here" would not be well received. Just then, the subject of his thoughts appeared on the stairs.

Gohan looked surprised to see his grandfather up and walking around. "Hey granddad," he greeted, a contagious grin crossing his face. "Are you okay?"

Bardock barely caught the smile in response to Gohan's own and turned it into an affectionate smirk. It faded quickly, however. Gohan's smile followed Bardock's and he looked at the older Saiyan worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Gohan, we need to talk," the elder Saiyan replied.

Gohan cocked his head questioningly. "Talk?" he repeated blankly. "About what?" He had come upstairs in the hopes that his grandfather would be up and around, but he had not expected the man to actually be up. What did he need to talk about that made him so much more serious than normal?

Bardock took a deep breath. "Gohan, I think that it's time that you go home," he said. Gohan blinked and blinked again before he forced out a laugh.

"Funny, Granddad, but I thought I just heard you say that I should go home," the teenager said lightheartedly.

"I did," Bardock replied.

Gohan looked flabbergasted. "You know I can't do that!" he exclaimed. "I still have to make sure that my father becomes a Super Saiyan and that's going to happen years from now! What the hell are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that there's another Super Saiyan in the universe besides you who can train Kakarotto to become one," Bardock retorted.

"Sure, but you don't know how to control it!" Gohan countered just as quickly. "How can you teach something that you can't control?"

"Then teach me, you idiot," the elder growled. "Teach me so you can leave."

The look on Bardock's face when he realized what he said would have been comical if it was not for the fact that Gohan felt like he had just been hit by a sledgehammer. So he was not wanted here anymore, was he? To be honest, he was somewhat surprised that his relatives had put up with him for this long; after all, he and they were almost polar opposites. "I see," he said softly. "Now that I've helped you become a Super Saiyan, I'm not needed anymore. I understand." He turned to go back downstairs, but a hand gripped his shoulder tightly.

"Gohan, that's not what I meant," Bardock said quietly. He hesitated for a brief second before drawing his grandson into a tight hug. "I don't want you to leave. It would be great if you stayed here, but you can't. As much as I might wish it otherwise, you don't belong in this time. You've already done so much for us; it's time for us to finish it up."

Gohan shook his head stubbornly as Bardock let him go. "No, I have to do this," he said mulishly. "It's my fault that any of this happened in the first place. I told you, it's my mess, so I need to fix it." His grandfather growled in annoyance.

"Have you ever thought about what kind of an effect you're having on the timeline here?" the man demanded. "Did you ever think that our future could be very different from your past?"

Gohan blinked. "Huh?"

Bardock rolled his eyes. "How do you know that the future will be the same here as it was in your timeline?" he asked. He raised a hand to forestall his grandson's retort. "Hear me out. Did you ever realize that if you hadn't saved Vegeta-sei seven years ago, Raditz would have died alongside everyone else?" The teenager's wide eyes were obvious indications that he had not realized this fact. "Raditz was scheduled to leave for his first purge a day before you killed Frieza, but something happened to his pod and so he had to stay on Vegeta-sei. I think that when you landed in this timeline, you changed the past as well. Not a lot, but enough. Some things might be meant to happen, like…" Bardock swallowed thickly. "Like Vegeta-sei's destruction. Even if we had killed Cold before, something else probably would have come along. Who knows what the future will be like now?"

Gohan started shaking. "So… so what?" he choked out. "I just completely ruined your future? And yet you tell me to go back to my time like it's no big deal?"

"I didn't say that," the older Saiyan said calmly. "You didn't ruin our future; if anything, you just helped us prepare to face anything coming our way. And returning to your time is a big deal, but you're blowing it out of proportion. Everyone wants to know the future, kid, but it's not nearly as great as it's cut out to be." His face darkened and he fell silent for a moment, staring at the teen but not seeing him. Mollified somewhat by his grandfather's words, Gohan calmed down. He could only imagine what the man was remembering; Bardock had never volunteered much information about the visions he frequently received while on Kanassa-sei. The teenager was not sure that he wanted to know.

"Granddad," Gohan said loudly, breaking the man out of his reverie. He had to try one more time before giving up entirely. "Are you sure that I can't stay here? I mean, since the future is already completely different from what I remember, it won't hurt if I stay here, will it?" Bardock smirked down at him and Gohan knew that the older Saiyan knew what he was trying to do.

"Nice try, brat," Bardock replied, "but it's not going to work." Gohan mock-pouted.

"Damn," the demi-Saiyan said dejectedly, trying and failing to keep an answering smirk from crossing his lips. "And here I was hoping that you'd fall for it."

"Not a chance," his grandfather countered. The smirk fell from his lips a second later. "You do know that once you leave you won't be able to come back, don't you?" he asked quietly.

Gohan smiled sadly. "Yeah, I figured that I wouldn't be able to," he replied just as softly. "Trunks coming back to warn us was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I don't think that the Bulma of my time will be able to make a time machine. We have all the materials, but…" He shrugged helplessly. "We just don't have the right motivation." They were quiet for a moment, the silence broken only by Raditz yelling obscenities at whatever he was working on.

"Well, if I only have a few more months here, we should get started," Gohan said finally. "I don't think that powering up to Super Saiyan will hurt the ship." Bardock blinked at him, taking by surprise.

"What if it does?"

Gohan considered this. "Well, I guess we'll be in trouble," he finally said, placing a hand on the back of his head and grinning inanely. Bardock groaned in annoyance.

"Can't you teleport us to Earth from here?" the man asked, falsely patient. His grandson blinked.

"Yeah," Gohan said, sounding surprised. "I can, especially since I lived there for a long time. I didn't think of that." The older Saiyan buried his face in his hands. Trust Gohan not to remember that he could go anywhere he wanted with a simple technique.

"Why don't you just take us to Earth now?" Bardock suggested, voice muffled by his hands. "I don't know that I have the patience to wait another two months before we get there." He stood up, ignoring his grandson's surprised look. "Get Raditz and gather whatever you want to take with you. We leave in an hour."

* * *

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	20. Arrival

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

* * *

**Chapter 20: Arrival**

"Gohan, Raditz, if you don't get your asses down here in the next two seconds, I'm coming up there after you!" Bardock yelled up the stairs. He smirked when the threat had its intended effect; the two younger men came tumbling down the stairs, each carrying a bag. Bardock had his bag sitting next to him. It contained a few extra gis, a spare suit of armor, and his notes for various inventions, but nothing else. There was not much in this ship that he was attached to. He wore his normal armor, since it could not be stuffed in the bag alongside the spare.

"What the hell took you so long?" the oldest Saiyan asked as they crowded around him. They both shrugged in reply and he shook his head. "Whatever. Can we go now?" Raditz nodded enthusiastically. Gohan looked hesitant.

"Shouldn't we land somewhere first?" the teenager queried concernedly. "Won't the ship hit something if we leave while it's still on course for Earth?"

Bardock sighed exasperatedly. "I programmed it to self-destruct, Gohan," he explained for what felt like the hundredth time. "It'll blow up long before it even gets into the same solar system."

Gohan nodded reluctantly and shifted his bag slightly. "Grab my shoulder," he instructed. "And whatever you do, don't let go. It's going to be hard to transport the three of us all at once." Raditz and Bardock obediently placed a hand on either shoulder and Gohan shut his eyes in concentration, blocking out his surroundings. He conjured up an image of the Lookout, thinking that they should probably meet with Kami and let him know what was going on before they did anything else. "Hold on," he warned and vanished, taking his relatives with him.

***

Kami stood on the steps outside the entrance to the bowels of the Lookout, brow furrowed in concentration. Something was coming, but he could not tell what it was. All he knew was that it was extremely powerful, much more so than anyone on Earth. He just hoped that it was favorably disposed towards keeping the peace of this planet intact.

Mr. Popo came through the door, holding a serving tray with a drink on it. "Would you like your tea now, Kami?" he asked kindly. "I prepared it just the way you like it."

Kami smiled wanly. "Thank you, Mr. Popo," he replied, picking up the cup. Mr. Popo bowed and turned away.

The cup fell from the old Namekian's hand and shattered on the ground, tea splashing over the dropped staff. The power… it was enormous! How could any being generate that much power? He could feel it getting closer, and the closer it got, the larger the power became. It felt like it would never stop growing.

The guardian could see a blot of light beginning to take shape at the far end of the Lookout. The light quickly solidified to become three separate people, all with black hair and what looked like tails. The tails reminded Kami of the infant who had come to the planet about seven years ago. Goku – for that was what the old man who found him named the child – had arrived in a small spaceship and crash-landed in the woods. He looked uncannily like one of the people who were now walking towards him. The boy's relatives, perhaps?

Kami regarded them with level eyes as they came to a stop in front of him, not allowing his confusion and curiosity to show on his face. What looked like the youngest of them stepped forward, bowing, and the Namekian blinked, startled. The bow he used was a common greeting on Earth. How did he know of that?

"Greetings, Kami," the man said.

"How do you know who I am?" Kami demanded in astonishment.

The man smiled. "Long story cut extremely short, I'm from the future," he replied. "I would like to use the Dragonballs to return there."

Kami blinked.

And blinked again.

"I think that we should discuss this over tea."

***

Gohan watched the stunned Namekian, amused smirk quickly covered by the teacup he raised to his lips. Beside him, Raditz pulled a face at the bitter drink when he took a tentative sip. Gohan had no problems with it; tea had always been his favorite drink and if there was one thing he missed in the past seven years beside his family and friends, it had been tea. Bardock, who had declined the liquid, stood with his back against the wall that was behind his son and grandson.

Gohan had just finished telling the Guardian of Earth his life story. Now he was merely waiting for the elderly Namekian to overcome his shock so he could ask for permission to use the Dragonballs. The demi-Saiyan did not especially need to ask – after all, it was not like he and his friends had ever asked before – but he would feel better if Kami knew why he needed the Dragonballs.

After a few more minutes, Kami finally returned to the present. Gohan sat up straighter. The Namekian cleared his throat slightly. "You have been on a long journey, Gohan," he said. He chuckled suddenly. "Though I have to admit, the fact that Piccolo and I fused together again is almost as overwhelming as time travel."

Gohan grinned back at him. "From what my father's told me, I'm not surprised," he replied. "I only met you once, but you were very different from Piccolo. It was kind of funny to see how on edge the two of you were around each other." He smiled at the memory.

"Can we use the Dragonballs, then?" Bardock asked. He did not think that they needed to ask to use them, but Gohan was adamant and the older Saiyan recognized the beginnings of an argument that he could not win. He knew how to pick his battles.

Kami looked at him. "Of course you can," the guardian replied, sounding slightly confused. "There was never any question about that, though I do appreciate being told. I believe, however, that you should learn how to control your Super Saiyan transformation before you go hunting."

Raditz snickered at his father's chagrined face.

***

The sounds of battle could be heard all around the Lookout. The signs of it were everywhere: cracked tiles, shredded trees, black marks where ki balls had missed their mark, and the wide eyes of the two locals trying to keep up. Raditz glanced at them and yawned, bored. Yeah, sure, it was cool, but he had seen it too many times to be impressed by it anymore. Of course, if his father ever heard him say that… The man grimaced. Suffice to say that Bardock would be annoyed.

Kami shook himself out of his awe when he heard Raditz's sigh of exasperation. He turned to regard the long-haired Saiyan with curiosity. Raditz looked bored, but there was something else in his face. For a moment Kami could not figure out what it was. Then it hit him.

"There is no need to be jealous of their power, Raditz," the Namekian said gently, walking over to him. "You are powerful in your own right, you know." Raditz looked at him, startled, before he quickly covered his surprise with a smirk.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the man replied simply. "I'm not jealous of how much power they have."

"But you are jealous of something," the Guardian countered.

Raditz glared at him. "I didn't say that, old man," he growled. Kami gave him a knowing look, the same one that annoyed Piccolo so much in the future, and the Saiyan sighed in defeat.

"It's just that they have something to do and all I can do is stand here," Raditz finally muttered reluctantly. He shifted in irritation and embarrassment when Kami smiled at him sympathetically. "What?" he demanded.

The Namekian ignored his question and turned towards the door into the Lookout. "Come with me," he said instead. "I think I can give you something to do." Curiosity piqued, Raditz followed him without complaint.

The Lookout was a very big place, the Saiyan quickly realized. They went up and down stairs, through rooms big and small, past even more rooms, and inside and outside the bowl-like structure. It seemed like they were wandering about aimlessly. As if he had heard Raditz's mental complaint, Kami said over his shoulder, "We have to take a very specific route to reach the room I am taking you to see." Raditz nodded silently and they continued on.

After a few more minutes of walking, the pair came to a dead end. Kami lifted a glowing hand and pressed it into a faint indentation in the center of the wall. The surface faded away as if it had not been there in the first place. There was no light in the room beyond and it was with no little trepidation that the Saiyan followed him. Though Raditz sensed nothing of any consequence inside, there was still a presence in the air, a strange, indefinable weightiness that engulfed him.

"_Styryds_," the Namekian said calmly, seeming indifferent to Raditz's uneasiness. A light appeared in the middle of the room. It shined down upon a pedestal, on which stood a glass case with something inside. As they drew nearer, the figure of some sort of animal came into focus. The Saiyan's eyes narrowed slightly. What _was_ it?

"This is a statue of the Dragon that is summoned from the Dragonballs," Kami said in reply to his unasked question. Raditz glanced at him and back at the statue. So _this_ was what a dragon looked like. It looked kind of… weird. "I brought you here to give you a gift of sorts."

The Namekian had Raditz's full attention now. "A gift?" he echoed, voice slightly suspicious.

"A gift," Kami confirmed. "While your father and nephew are training, you will gather the Dragonballs. Normally this would take months, perhaps even years. But with the gift I will give you, it should not take more than a week, two at the most. It will be much easier this way, I think." He laid a gnarled green hand gently on the glass and gestured for Raditz to do the same. The Saiyan did so hesitantly. "I am going to link you to the Dragonballs for the time being. After they have been gathered I will break the link, because I have no idea what will happen if you are still linked to them when they become dormant." With that explained, the Guardian wasted no more time. His hand started glowing again. The light encompassed the dragon statue, traveling to Raditz's hand and up his arm, encasing his whole body shortly thereafter.

Raditz could not move, could not breathe. His hand was stuck to the glass as currents of power washed up his arm, making it tingle. The light became incredibly bright, but he could not shield his eyes. He just continued to stare at his hand, entranced by the feeling of power. By the time the spots dancing around in his vision faded he was able to move again.

The Saiyan checked his body, looking for any differing physical attributes. He did not find any. He opened his mouth to demand just what exactly the Guardian had done, but then he felt something in the back of his mind. He did not know how to describe what the feeling was; the closest thing he could liken it to was the strange presence that had been in the room before Kami did whatever had just happened. When Raditz looked back at where the statue had rested, no trace of it was still under the glass. He looked over at the Namekian, bewildered.

"You feel them." It was not a question. Raditz nodded faintly. Kami smiled, satisfied, and tapped his staff lightly against the floor. All went dark for a brief moment before they were quite suddenly on the top of the Lookout. Raditz cast his host an annoyed look at the shortcut back up to surface until he noticed the state of things surrounding him.

If the Lookout had not looked like a battlefield before, it certainly did now. There were tiles that had been disintegrated, stumps where trees had once stood, and chunks of marble that had come off the side of the entrance where a stray ki blast had hit. Mr. Popo was nowhere to be found, but Gohan sat in the middle of the destruction next to Bardock's unconscious body. He leapt into a defensive stance when they appeared but dropped it when he realized who they were.

"Hey guys," the demi-Saiyan greeted casually, placing a hand behind his head in embarrassment at his rash action. "What's up?"

Raditz let Kami explain as he bent down next to his father. The man was pretty beat up, his body a colorful mass of bruises, burns, and cuts. It was apparently all worth it though, judging by the painful smirk that graced his face even in unconsciousness. Raditz shook his head in fond annoyance as he straightened up again; Bardock was completely predictable when it came to training. He returned his attention to Gohan and Kami. Gohan was nodding in agreement to whatever the Namekian had just said. "You're probably right," he said before turning to his uncle. "We think that you should go get my father's Dragonball first and take him with you to find the others. Think of it as a sort of… bonding experience." Gohan smirked as he said the last sentence and had to dodge a swipe from Raditz as a consequence. When it looked like the little scuffle might continue, Kami cleared his throat meaningfully and the two Saiyans both looked at him, slightly abashed.

"Raditz, come with me," he ordered. "I will show you where your brother lives."

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Read and review!

~tp


	21. Kakarotto and the Dragonball Hunt

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 21: Kakarotto and the Dragonball Hunt**

Raditz touched down in front of a small house, looking around for any trace of his brother. On his way to the house, the man had picked up the six-star Dragonball wedged tightly between two rocks. As he drew closer to his brother's abode, the golden ball had started glowing, intermittently at first before settling into a steady glow. This combined with the fact that he could feel the presence of a Dragonball meant that Kakarotto and his Dragonball should be somewhere close by, right? "Hello?" the tall Saiyan called, feeling slightly self-conscious. "Is anyone here?" His sensitive hearing caught the sound of footsteps and he returned his attention to the house as the front door opened and a child came out, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Raditz's jaw dropped. The boy was a mirror image of their father, sans the battle scars and the lighter skin. He had seen his brother as a baby very briefly, but all he had managed to catch was the head of black hair and the incessant wailing before he had to report back to Tarek.

Kakarotto stared up at him curiously. "Who are you?" he asked curiously, tail twitching behind him. The elder brother raised an eyebrow.

"My name is Raditz," the Saiyan replied. "I'm your brother, Kakarotto."

The child's nose wrinkled in confusion. "What's a Kara-koto?" he asked, mangling the name. His brother laughed slightly.

"Kakarotto," Raditz corrected. "And you are Kakarotto. That's your name." He knelt down to his brother's height.

"But Grandpa called me Goku!" the boy protested. His head tilted to the side as something else apparently occurred to him. "And why don't you live here if you're my brother?"

Raditz blinked once before sighing and running a hand through his hair in exasperation. He should have seen this coming. How the hell was he supposed to explain to a seven-year-old that he had been sent to the planet to kill all its inhabitants and that was the reason why he had been separated from his true family? He picked his words carefully, choosing to tell Kakarotto only the most basic truths. They could reveal more of the story once he was older.

"In our culture, we sometimes give our children to other people for a few years," Raditz said slowly. "After a few years, we take them back and they live with us again. We gave you to the person that you call 'Grandpa,' but it's been several years and it's time for you to come back with us." He waited patiently for the child to absorb this information.

Kakarotto had a look of intense concentration on his face as he tried to understand what he had been told. Finally, he asked, "So I'm gonna go live with you?"

Raditz nodded. "Yes," he replied. "You're going to live with both me and our father. He's training right now or else he would be here. Are you ready to come with me?" Kakarotto's face split into a wide smile as he nodded, bouncing in place. Suddenly, he whirled around and raced back inside the small house, calling, "Grandpa, guess what?"

Raditz winced. He had not thought about the man still being alive. "Grandpa," however, was not quite what he expected. Instead of dragging an old man behind him, Kakarotto carefully held something in his hands. Walking slowly back to his brother, the boy held the object in his hands up to Raditz for inspection. "This is Grandpa," he announced proudly.

"Grandpa" was a small golden ball, not much bigger than an orange. It had four reddish stars engraved on it. It was definitely a Dragonball. So why was Kakarotto calling it Grandpa?

Kakarotto's smile faded when Raditz asked the question. "A big monster squished him," he said sadly. "Grandpa always told me that the monster came out on the night of the full moon and that I shouldn't go outside, but I really wanted to see what it looked like! I think the monster snuck up behind me and made me go to sleep because I can't remember what happened." He shrugged a little.

"The monster probably did make you go to sleep," Raditz agreed outwardly, hiding his shock behind a knowing look. Great, something else that they would have to explain. 'Hey Kakarotto, remember that big monster that killed your grandfather? Well, you were that big monster.' He internally grimaced. 'Lovely conversation to have. Can't wait to have it.'

Not voicing these thoughts, the older Saiyan looked down at his brother. "Now are you ready to go?" Kakarotto nodded, smile big as ever again. "Good." Raditz drew the six-star Dragonball out of the sack slung across his back and the boy's eyes widened.

"It's another Grandpa!" Kakarotto exclaimed incredulously.

Raditz smirked faintly. "This is called a Dragonball. There are seven of them. When we find all seven, a Dragon will come out and grant us a wish." His voice was serious and demanded that he be paid attention to. Kakarotto looked like he was hanging onto every word. "There is someone who needs the wish to go back to his family. We need to find five more –"

"Because you have one and I have one, right?" Kakarotto interrupted excitedly, clearly proud that he knew this.

"Right," Raditz replied, smiling at him. "When we use them though, the balls fly all over the world and turn to stone for a whole year. Can you give up your Grandpa for a whole year?" The little boy stayed silent, stroking the ball with one hand as he thought.

"Can we find him again?" he asked finally.

"Of course we can," the elder answered instantly. "We might even be able to catch him before he flies away." Kakarotto studied him for a moment, as if ascertaining the truth of his words, before nodding a bit reluctantly.

"Okay," the boy said hesitantly. "But you need to catch him before he flies away, okay?"

Raditz nodded. "Deal," he said. He held his hand out to the boy, who unflinchingly took it. The older brother hoisted his younger brother into his arms and rose up into the sky. Kakarotto gasped in delight as they took off towards where Raditz could feel the next Dragonball.

***

A few days later, Raditz and Kakarotto had collected all but one of the Dragonballs. With Raditz's ability to sense the Dragonballs, the hunt was a piece of cake. Well, finding them was a piece of cake. Getting some of them was another matter entirely, and it was this last one that was causing them the most trouble of all.

One of the remaining five balls had been lying out in the open, ready for anyone to take it. Naturally, the two Saiyans did just that. One was for sale in an antique shop, but once Raditz had done some work cleaning up the store (Gohan would have a fit if he found that they had stolen the Dragonball), they received it as payment. The third one was not too hard to get if one did not factor in that the ball was in a nest of baby pterodactyls on the side of a mountain. The parents came back right as Raditz was retrieving the Dragonball. While he tried to escape the angry mother and father, Kakarotto watched from the bottom of the small mountain, laughing hysterically.

The fourth Dragonball was one of the most complicated to obtain, not including the one the two brothers were currently trying to get. It was in a place called Capsule Corporation. The leader of Earth's foremost technological advances, CC was designed like a small fortress. The security systems were cutting edge and were changed every other month. Though primitive by Arcosian standards and therefore easy to hack into, Raditz preferred to at least try to retrieve the Dragonball through legitimate means. He did not want his ass kicked by his nephew yet again. He still had some pride left.

The Saiyan's chance to get into the building came in the form of a flyer. The paper boasted that no one had been able to penetrate the CC system. The owner of CC invited anyone and everyone to try and bypass the security. The prize was ten million zeni. Raditz did not know how much ten million zeni was worth on this planet, but it was apparently a lot of money judging by all the people who showed up. Kakarotto sitting on his shoulders and gaping around at the sight – he was definitely a country boy through and through –, the Saiyan maneuvered through the throng of people, heading towards a random computer. After familiarizing himself with the older (read: ancient) technology, he proceeded to rip through the defenses like they were tissue paper, easily defeating even the most cleverly hidden trap. Ten minutes later, a shocked and stuttering president of Capsule Corporation presented him with a nine million zeni check and the small golden ball with seven stars.

The last Dragonball was turning out to be almost more trouble than it was worth, however. The three-star ball was currently in the possession of a man who lived in the middle of the ocean. His name was Roshi, and he was the Turtle Hermit, master of the Turtle Style of Martial Arts. Remembering the name from Gohan's more… amusing stories of Goku from when he was a child, Raditz knew exactly what he would have to exchange in order to get the Dragonball. So he thought.

What the Saiyan did not remember was that Master Roshi was a very picky old man. The woman Raditz had originally brought with him and Kakarotto was not up to Roshi's standards and so Raditz was sent out to find another one, younger this time. Kakarotto stayed behind. The boy had happened to see the Turtle Hermit actually training for once and had tried to copy his moves. So involved in this exercise was the boy that Raditz left, stopping only instruct his brother to behave. The elder Saiyan was sure that Kakarotto would not cause trouble in the short time that he would be gone.

The long-haired man scowled as the doddering old woman waved happily and toddled back into the nursing home. How was he supposed to know that the pervert wanted a younger woman than that? Rising back up into the air, Raditz floated on his back as he lazily flew in a random direction. "Old fart," he snorted to himself. The sound of gunfire and sirens drew his attention to the scene below him. It looked like some sort of chase. Curious about what was going on, he decided to take a quick detour and get a closer look.

A blonde woman on a motorcycle was leading the pack of police cars through terrain that was easily maneuverable for her and not so easily maneuverable for her pursuers. "Come and get me suckers!" she shouted over her shoulder, showing her middle finger to the cops. Though Raditz did not recognize the gesture, it was obviously offensive if the intensity in which the police chased her was any indication. He watched a little longer.

Then he got an idea. An awful idea. Raditz had a wonderful, awful idea. The Saiyan had a way to both make the old man happy and get back at him for all the trouble Raditz had gone through all at once. His laugh sounded a bit evil as he swooped down in between the woman on the motorcycle and the officers chasing her, landing on the street right in front of the police cars. He smirked as the group of cars crashed into one another while trying to avoid hitting his person. "Whoops," he said, casting an eye over the damage he had caused. From the looks of it, the men would not be going anywhere soon. Satisfied with the amount of damage he had caused, he flew in the direction that the woman had gone.

The man caught up with the blonde a few miles from the smoke that signaled the police's position. She had stopped to look into a bag that had been strapped to her back during the chase. From the depths of the bag, the Saiyan could see glittering jewels and sparkling gold peeking out. He raised one eyebrow. 'A thief?' he thought. 'Even better.'

Raditz landed next to her. She was too busy rummaging through her stolen items to notice. He tapped her shoulder. "Hey—" He did not get any further into what he was going to say. The woman let out a yelp and swung her gun around to point directly in the Saiyan's face, pulling the trigger almost instantaneously and continuing to do so until the clip had been emptied. When the smoke cleared, all she could do was gape at the empty space he had occupied until two seconds ago. "Looking for me?" a voice said in her ear. "Turn around."

For the first time in her life, Lunch was scared out of her mind. What kind of maniac could dodge bullets like that? She turned around obediently and came face to chest with a man clad in a green gi. After hastily taking a few steps back, she looked the man up and down. He was tall and had a rather muscular frame. When he took a step toward her, his movement was smooth and graceful, indicating years of martial arts training to her skilled eye. His long, knee-length hair would look ridiculous on any other man, but it suited him in some strange way that Lunch could not put her finger on. He also had a… tail? He smirked at her and she knew he had caught her staring. She glared at him. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded.

"My name is Raditz," the man said. "I've come to ask you for a favor."

Lunch's eyebrow quirked. "I don't do favors," she replied scathingly. Despite herself, she shrank back as her companion's face hardened.

"I took care of those… what were they called? Police?" Raditz tapped his chin in thought. "Yeah, police. I took care of them for you. You owe me."

This statement perked the woman's interest. It was not so much that he did not know that the police were called… well, the police (though she filed that away for careful scrutiny later), but rather the fact that he had taken care of them and had emerged from the conflict unscathed. The fact that he had done so just to get them off her tail nagged at her, though. Lunch hated being in someone else's debt, no matter who it was. "Fine," she agreed gruffly. "What do you want me to do?"

Raditz smirked at his victim, glad that he had the upper hand for once. "All you have to do is take a walk on a beach with an old man so I can get what I want from him," he informed her.

Lunch blinked. "That's it?" she replied unbelievingly. She had expected something else. Sexual favors were not what she was into and she would have refused had Raditz asked for one. Taking a walk with an old man trying to relive his skirt-chasing days was a piece of cake.

"That's it," Raditz confirmed, wondering why she looked so relieved. What had she thought he would ask for? Deciding that he did not want to know how these strange Earthlings thought, he put it out of his mind. "Do you need anything before we go?" he asked. "I need to get this thing as soon as possible."

Lunch shook her head silently; everything that she owned was in capsules and she had all those with her. She started to get back on her bike. "Um…" Raditz murmured, sounding uncertain. The blonde turned back to him and was surprised to see his cheeks redden slightly. "We'll have to go faster than that," he said, not meeting her eyes. "We're going to fly."

Seeing as her S-Cargo bike was the fastest thing on two wheels, Lunch was understandably offended. "I'll have you know that this thing goes plenty fast," she snapped. "I've made a lot of special modifications to it."

"It's not faster than me," the man said bluntly. Walking over, he found the button to capsulize the bike and pressed it, causing the bike to revert back into a capsule. He flipped the capsule at Lunch, who caught it easily. The next thing she knew, she was being held bridal-style and they were flying through the air.

"You can fly?" the woman gasped out, holding onto the cloth of his uniform for dear life.

"Yes," Raditz answered simply.

Lunch watched the ground fly past much faster than her bike or even her plane could ever go. When the man had said "fly" she assumed that he meant in an airplane or helicopter or something of that nature. She never expected that he would just jump into the air and stay there. "Could I learn how?" she asked. This would make it so much easier to get away from the cops!

Raditz glanced at her. It felt like he was measuring something, though she was not sure what it could be. "It's possible," he admitted. "It would take a long time though. You don't have any control over your ki."

"What's ki?" the blonde asked curiously. They were speeding over deep blue water. She had never seen the ocean and forgot all about her question as she took in the breath-taking beauty beneath her. She was so absorbed in taking it all in that she never heard Raditz's answer. She did hear him swear, however, and looked in the direction that he was looking.

Smoke was rising from the horizon. They quickly drew near enough to reveal that the smoke was coming from a small island. Lunch could see tiny figures running around a burning house. "I leave Kakarotto there for an hour and this is what happens?" the man muttered. He stopped a few hundred feet away, still over the open ocean. "Put your arms around my neck," he ordered. "I need a free hand for this." She complied, feeling him slip one arm around her waist. Again for what was probably the first time in her life, she blushed.

Raditz's body tensed for a brief second as he held his hand out and he gave a short, unintelligible exclamation. All of a sudden, a huge wave of water rose up from right in front of them, a wave that was soon almost as high as they were. It wavered in place for a few seconds and then fell with a crash – right on top of the island. When the water receded, Raditz gently landed, letting Lunch out of his grasp. The woman gaped at him and the house in turn.

"That was fun, Raditz!" a child's voice cried from above them. Lunch looked up at the top of the palm tree. A little boy with wild hair was sitting among the fronds, holding onto an old man and a turtle. "Can you do that again?"

The old man glared at his young savior. "No!" he snapped. "You've caused enough trouble for one day, you little hooligan! Now put me down!"

The boy shrugged. "Okay!" he agreed cheerfully and promptly dropped the man down the twenty or so feet to the ground. The child followed, still holding the turtle.

"What happened, Master Roshi?" Raditz asked in a peculiar voice. It sounded like he was trying to keep from laughing and was only half-succeeding.

"Oh, I'll tell you what happened," Roshi sniffed. "He saw me using the Kamehameha Wave and decided to try it out on my house!" The tone of his voice faded from ire to puzzlement and a bit of awe. "I can't believe that he was actually able to do it the first time he tried it."

"It was so cool, Raditz!" Kakarotto butted in enthusiastically.

Raditz raised a slightly reprimanding eyebrow at his brother. "Why did I think that you would actually behave?" he asked rhetorically. Kakarotto, not understanding the concept of rhetorical questions, opened his mouth to answer.

The boy was interrupted by Master Roshi's blurred form as he raced over to the still gob smacked blonde. "Well, he-_llo_ beautiful!" the martial artist greeted. He leered at her prominent cleavage and exposed legs. "I apologize for the state of my island. Normally it's quite a beautiful place." Lunch turned pleading eyes on Raditz, who gulped but shook his head. She glared at him as the old man led her away on the promised walk on the beach. The Saiyan watched her retreating form with some trepidation. Who knew what was going on inside her head? Definitely not him. He was fairly sure that he did not want to know either.

An enraged yell sounded from the other side of the house, followed shortly by the sound of flesh impacting flesh. Kakarotto clambered onto Raditz's shoulder as Lunch stormed around the corner, the last Dragonball clutched tightly in one pale hand. "We're leaving," she growled. Raditz nodded meekly as she wrapped her arms around his neck once again. In turn, he obediently put an arm around her waist.

"Hold on," the Saiyan warned. "This flight is going to be longer." He twisted his head around to look at his little brother. "Are you ready to meet our father?" he asked the boy.

Kakarotto perked up at once. "Can we really?" he asked excitedly, plucking the three-star Dragonball from Lunch's hand and placing it in the sack that contained the other six balls.

Raditz laughed and lifted up off the ground, ignoring both the questioning look that Lunch sent him and the strange feeling he got from the tightening of the woman's arms as he raced through the air. "Let's go, brat."

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Read and review!

~tp


	22. Gateway to Hell

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 22: Gateway to Hell**

Kami smiled faintly as he watched the two brothers begin their journey back to the Lookout. He was glad that Goku ('Kakarotto,' his mind corrected) had taken to Raditz so quickly. The mind of a child never ceased to amaze him. Raditz's chance meeting with Lunch had provided him with some much-needed entertainment, and Kakarotto nearly burning down the Turtle Hermit's home had only increased the hilarity. Even the Guardian of Earth needed some amusement every now and then. This was the most fun he had had in years!

Turning his back on the world below, the old guardian watched Bardock changing back and forth from his natural form into the Super Saiyan one with ease. It really was incredible how much these Saiyans could improve their abilities in such a short time. The man had gone from being completely blinded by rage to having complete control in less than a week. He had been under a lot of pressure to complete the act, of course, but it was still amazing that he had been able to do it so quickly. Kami watched the display for a few more minutes before deciding to interrupt Bardock and Gohan's newest game of "who can power up to Super Saiyan the fastest."

"Bardock," the Namekian said, smiling apologetically at the Saiyan when the man lost the game and glared at him, "I thought you would like to know that all the Dragonballs have been gathered. Raditz and Kakarotto are returning here as we speak." Being in a bit of a mischievous mood and wanting a little bit more entertainment, he decided not to say anything about Lunch, just to see what Bardock and Gohan would do.

Bardock's glare faded into nothingness and he crossed his arms. Gohan saw this and recognized it as something the man did to cover up his nervousness. The teenager had to turn a laugh into a cough at the thought of his grandfather being afraid of meeting his son. Well, "afraid" was not the word. "Nervous" was probably a better choice. Maybe "apprehensive". Yeah, apprehensive was the word he wanted. Before the demi-Saiyan could say anything to his grandfather, however, Raditz appeared and landed on the tiled floor. The teenager's eyes widened noticeably when they came to rest on not one but two people who had accompanied his uncle. He easily recognized the little boy. Kakarotto had not changed much as he matured; discounting the fact that he grew taller, the boy had only lost the residual baby fat in his face otherwise.

It was the woman clutching Raditz's neck in a death grip that caused Gohan to gape. Though he had never seen her in person, he knew what she looked like both from pictures and from stories. What the hell was Lunch doing here? Bardock asked the question when it became obvious that Gohan was too shocked to ask it himself. "What's the woman doing here?" he queried casually.

Raditz turned a dull red. "Lunch helped Kakarotto and I get the three-star ball from Master Roshi," he muttered, not looking at either his father or his nephew as the color heightened along his cheekbones. Gohan's jaw dropped even further. He had vague recollections of how Krillin had acted around that Maron girl back when Garlic Junior had tried to suck them all into the Dead Zone and right now Raditz was doing the exact same thing with Lunch.

A sly smile snuck across the hybrid's face and he sidled up to his uncle. "So you thought you'd thank her personally, huh?" he asked innocently. He had come a long way from being embarrassed at the mere mention of the word "sex." He could give almost as good as he got now and did so whenever the opportunity presented itself (which was not often).

Raditz glared at the teenager, though it was somewhat spoiled by the blush that still graced his face. "Shut up!" he hissed.

Gohan's grin only widened and he began to sing mockingly. "Lunch and Raditz sittin' in a tree!" he taunted. "K-I-S-S-" The next thing he knew, he was on the ground. The punch had not really hurt, but it had somehow had enough force to knock him arse over teakettle regardless. The demi-Saiyan looked up in astonishment at Lunch's extended fist. The blonde was also a brilliant red, but for some reason Gohan thought that it was due more to fury than to embarrassment. He raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender as he gracefully got to his feet. "All right, all right," he agreed reluctantly. "I'll stop." A tug on his pants leg made the teenager look down into his father's childish face.

"Who are you?" the child asked curiously. "Are you my father?"

Gohan gazed down at him with wide eyes. "N-no," he stuttered. "I'm… uh… I'm…" He scrambled to find a name and grasped at one that he used on planets where unfriendly Saiyans lived. "I'm Maze. I'm your… er… uncle!" He nodded quickly, ignoring the stares from Bardock, Raditz, and Kami. "Yeah, that's it. I'm your uncle Maze."

Kakarotto blinked up at him. "Uncle Maze?" he queried, looking suspicious. Gohan nodded so hard he thought his head was going to fall off.

"Yep, that's me!" the teenager affirmed cheerfully, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. Kakarotto smiled happily.

"Hi!" the boy said. "I'm Goku, but Raditz calls me Ka-ka-rot-to." He pronounced the name carefully and looked back at Raditz, his grin growing at Raditz's nod of approval. He returned his attention to Gohan. "Where's my father?"

Gohan smiled down at him and pointed in Bardock's direction. "He's right there." The smile turned a bit evil when he saw his grandfather's expression, a mixture of "I'm going to kill you" directed at Gohan and "I'm scared out of my mind because I'm meeting my son for the first time."

Kakarotto, not picking up on any of this, nonchalantly walked up to the eldest Saiyan. His head cocked slightly as he observed the man. "You look like me!" he exclaimed. "You're just bigger. Will I look like you when I grow up?"

"Probably," Bardock agreed, hesitantly placing a hand on his son's head and ruffling the unruly mess of spikes. Kakarotto grinned at him from beneath the hand and Bardock smiled back at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Kami taking a gaping Lunch by the arm and gently guiding her away from all the commotion, most likely to calm her down and explain what exactly was going on. Looking over at Raditz to see his reaction, he caught Gohan watching him and Kakarotto, his expression a mixture of longing and… anger? His concern over his grandson only increased when the demi-Saiyan abruptly turned and went inside the Lookout. Raditz, who had followed his father's gaze, motioned that he would follow Gohan and see what was wrong. Bardock, worried about Gohan, did not notice Kakarotto subtly move in closer.

_Pat, pat_.

The unexpected touch to his crotch made the Saiyan jump about three feet in the air and forget all about Gohan's strange behavior. He looked down and saw Kakarotto standing there, small hand still upraised and a pleased expression on his face. What the hell did he do that for?

"You're a boy too!" Kakarotto said happily.

Bardock's eye twitched slightly. He had been felt up by his seven-year old son.

Unbelievable.

***

Raditz followed his nephew's hurried footsteps as they walked deeper into the bowels of the Lookout. He had no idea where he was by this point, but Gohan sounded like he knew where he was going. It was not long before he caught up with the demi-Saiyan, who had reached the end of the hallway they had been traversing. He now stood in front of a door with a large clock overhead. The older man did not say anything, knowing from experience that Gohan would talk when he was ready and not before.

The two stood in front of the door in silence, hearing only the ticking of the second hand on the clock. Gohan stared at the clock, but he was obviously not watching it, his eyes far away and clouded with emotion even though his face was blank. It was something he had picked up from Bardock, Raditz knew, and he had perfected it with almost unnatural ease. Both Bardock and Raditz suspected that the teenager had already known how to disguise his negative emotions with other, more positive ones, so there was not much of a jump between that and using a calm mask.

"You know something, Raditz?" Gohan asked suddenly. Raditz blinked and looked over at him, but he continued to stare at the clock above them. "This is the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. This is where the gateway to hell on Earth is." He chuckled humorlessly. "Probably why Vegeta liked it so much. It's the perfect training ground when you need to get really strong really fast." He transferred his strangely intense gaze to the door.

"A year inside the chamber is equal to one day out here. I still don't really understand how it works, but I guess it doesn't matter. I'm never going back in if I can help it." Gohan's dark eyes were haunted. "When you go in, all you can see is a white void. The further out you go, the heavier the gravity gets. And the void changes all the time after the door is shut behind you. Sometimes whips of flame try to beat you down to the ground and in the next instant it's like you're in a blizzard that kill even the strongest person."

Raditz frowned. Gohan had already explained all this a few years ago after telling them of his past. Was he trying to dissuade him from ever going in unless forced to? If so, Raditz was already quite sure that he was not going to go in there. The descriptions had been vivid enough that they had dissuaded him from ever wanting to use the room. But Gohan knew this. So why was he explaining it again?

"But that's not the hardest part," the teenager continued, and Raditz tuned back in. This was new. "The hardest part of all the time we spent in there was knowing how disappointing I must have been to my father. He had to carry me back to my bed almost every day after we finished training. He'd put me down and cover me up and go right back out to train some more. Sometimes, if I wasn't feeling really awful, I'd sneak out and just watch him train. It was amazing to watch. He moved so fast, sometimes so fast that I couldn't keep up. That was in the beginning though. By the end of the time we spent in here, he couldn't move too fast. I always knew where he would be before he got there. But I still couldn't keep up. He had so many more years of experience than I did."

Gohan fell silent for a moment, his arms crossing over his chest in an unconscious attempt to comfort himself as his lips tightened. Raditz recognized this gesture as well (also a Bardock move), though he still knew not to try any sort of physical contact at the moment. It was amazing how well one could interpret the smallest gesture a person made after seven years of living with them.

"I just don't understand it!" the demi-Saiyan burst out suddenly. "Why did he waste his time training with me when he could have trained on his own? He could have easily reached the second level if I hadn't been there! Why did he have to pin everyone's hopes on me? I got him and Trunks both killed, not to mention almost blowing the entire planet to pieces! Why the hell did he do this to me?" By the end of his rant, Gohan's eyes were wide and full of tears, his body trembling wildly.

Ah, so that was what he was so upset about. Raditz thought that Gohan and Bardock had taken care of this long ago when all three of them were still on Vegeta-sei, but apparently his nephew still had emotional baggage in his subconscious. Grand. How to calm him down? He needed to answer Gohan's questions, but only the Kakarotto of Gohan's time could truly answer them. He smiled wryly at the thought that he had been more a diplomat than a warrior in the past few weeks, what with meeting Kakarotto and hunting for Dragonballs. He stepped forward and putting both his hands on his nephew's shoulders. He was shorter than Gohan by a few inches, something that had galled him to no end at one point, but Gohan looked up to him almost as much as he did Bardock, regardless of the mere five years difference in their ages. He still was not sure why – he did not feel like any sort of role model – but he would not question it, either.

"Gohan, the only person who can answer those questions is your father," Raditz said calmly. "The only way you can ask him is if you calm down so we can make our wish and you can go home. Do you understand?" Gohan nodded slightly, though his eyes were still troubled. Raditz squeezed his shoulders slightly before letting go and turning away. "Come on, we have a wish to make!" He raced down the hall and out of sight. Gohan could only stand there and blink when the man came back at a much slower pace.

"Erm," the Saiyan began sheepishly, "how do you get out of here?" Gohan's eyes finally cleared as he laughed and walked passed his uncle to easily lead the way back to the top while Raditz mock-grumbled the entire way up. If either of them noticed the hysterical edge to Gohan's laughter, they both ignored it.

"Uncle Maze?" Raditz suddenly commented, raising a sardonic eyebrow at his nephew.

Gohan blushed. "That was all I could think of!" he protested.

"You couldn't have been his brother as well?" the older man asked. "That's a lot more believable than you being my uncle as well as his, you know. Idiot." The demi-Saiyan scowled at his uncle and punched him in the arm.

Raditz scowled as well, rubbing the offended spot. That had hurt! "Bastard," he muttered. He blinked suddenly watering eyes as they emerged into the bright sunlight. Wiping the moisture away, the first thing he saw was his father holding Kakarotto by one leg. Both eyebrows went up this time. What the hell?

"Having fun, you two?" Gohan's voice sounded amused.

Kakarotto grinned at his supposed uncle from his upside-down position. "Hi Uncle Maze!" he greeted. "Guess what?"

"You did something to annoy Gran – Bardock?" the teenager asked, stumbling slightly over what to call his grandfather.

"Maaaaybe," the boy replied, drawing his answer out. "I found out that he was a boy!"

Gohan blinked once in confusion before remembering Bulma's stories of how Goku differentiated between boys and girls. "You didn't!" he exclaimed. He looked at Bardock's face. It said all that Gohan needed to know, and he dropped to the floor, rolling with laughter. Raditz merely looked on, wondering what was so funny.

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Read and review!

~tp


	23. And the Greatest of These is Love

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 23: And the Greatest of These is Love**

The three Saiyans had gone to a mountainous region that Gohan said was where Piccolo had left him to survive or die. They had left both Lunch and Kakarotto up on the Lookout, Lunch exploring the seemingly endless passages and Kakarotto training with Mr. Popo. None of them wanted either of the two to see them so emotional. Bardock, Raditz, and Gohan all knew that this farewell was going to be nothing but emotional. After today, it was almost certain that they would never see each other again. One or the other of them might be able to make a time machine, but it was highly unlikely. As Gohan had said only a week before, they did not have the motivation of two insanely powerful killer androids to make a time machine.

Gohan set down in an area that Bardock suddenly realized that he recognized. He looked around at the scene as Gohan emptied the small golden balls into a pile in the middle of their lop-sided circle. Raditz stood off to one side, clad in his favorite gi. Gohan stood further away, tossing the bag off to one side now that it was not needed. Bardock himself stood across from his son. A large bag sat next to him and he gripped his headband in his fist tightly.

Raditz shifted irritably, watching the Dragonballs flash and glow. Kami had severed the bond between the Saiyan and the Dragonballs, something that Raditz was glad about, even though it felt like he had a hole in his head. Being connected to those things felt weird. "Gohan, do these things do anything besides flash pretty lights?" he growled. Gohan smirked at him. Bardock's feeling of déjà vu increased as he saw Gohan's reaction. Why was he remembering all of this?

Gohan raised his hands. "Eternal Dragon, by your name I summon you forth: Shenron!" The sky overhead went dark suddenly as clouds blotted out the sun. Lightning struck the ground all around them, finally hitting the Dragonballs. Instead of the bolt fading away, it stretched into the sky, gradually forming into what Bardock supposed was a dragon. He blinked as he finally realized that he had seen all this in a vision, though he did not say anything. It was not like it was important anyway.

In what seemed like both a brief second and a near eternity, the Dragon had completely formed and now loomed over them. "_Choose your words carefully, for I will grant you one wish as long as it is in my power to do so_," the Dragon rumbled. Raditz stared up at the Dragon with his mouth agape until Bardock cuffed him on the head and walked them both over to Gohan, wanting to get through this as quickly and painlessly as possible. Realistically, he knew that this would hurt no matter what, but there was no harm in lying to himself, right?

Gohan looked down at them from his slightly taller height. The oldest man was glad that the boy had not grown anymore than he already had; if he had grown much more, Bardock and Raditz's gift would not fit. "Gohan," he began, voice cracking slightly. He cleared his throat embarrassedly before starting again. "Gohan," he tried again, "Raditz and I want you to take this with you." He was not good with words like his son and grandson were and normally never thought twice about it, but as he shoved the sack into Gohan's surprised hands, he wished he could say something more fitting for the occasion.

Gohan seemed to understand what he was trying to say, however, and gave him a soft smile as he opened the sack. His eyes widened. Inside was Bardock's armor, the spandex folded neatly underneath it. The teenager raised confused eyes to his grandfather. The man shifted uncomfortably. "Normally, my armor would go to Raditz as my first-born son," he said softly. "But we discussed it and decided that you should have it. It is our gift to you." His grip tightened on the bloodstained headband for a brief moment before he sighed. "And this," he continued, putting it gently atop the armor inside the bag, "is from me alone." Gohan's eyes widened even further at his words.

"Granddad, I can't take this," the hybrid protested. "I know what this means to you." Bardock gave him a small smile.

"I want you to have it," he returned softly. "I can't hold onto the bad memories forever and I know that for you this will only have good ones." He blushed slightly at the sappy words. Gohan studied him for a moment, as if he were wondering if he were really serious about this. He nodded before carefully setting the package on the ground. The second he straightened up he engulfed Raditz in a tight hug. The Saiyan did not hesitate putting his arms around his nephew and hugging back just as tightly. "Bye, Raditz," the teenager said hoarsely, releasing him slowly. "Have fun with Lunch, eh?" Raditz tightened his grip once before letting go as well, tears shining in his eyes despite his attempts to suppress them as he thumped the teenager on the arm for his words.

"Shut up, Gohan," he ordered.

Gohan turned to his grandfather and threw his arms around him. Bardock returned the hug stiffly, still not used to being touched in a way other than sparring or fighting even after all these years with Gohan. The man felt the tiniest drop of liquid fall onto his shoulder and knew that Gohan was losing the battle against his tears.

"I love you, Granddad."

The words were soft, almost inaudible even to Bardock's ears, but they reverberated loudly within his own mind. Only four little words, but those four words made the proud warrior's façade fall like a heap of leaves in the wind. He relaxed and clutched Gohan tighter to his chest, letting down his guard for the first time in his life.

"I love you too, Gohan."

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~tp


	24. Interlude: Piccolo

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.

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**Chapter 24: Interlude – Piccolo**

It's been seven years since Gohan disappeared.

Seven years.

_Seven years._

Has it really been that long?

Yes. I've counted every single day since he was taken from us. From me.

I still replay that moment in my mind, even though it's nothing short of torture. We still don't know what caused him to disappear. I don't suppose that we ever will. But still, I keep wondering. Could I have done something? Could I have saved him from whatever happened to him? Could any of us have helped him? When Shenron told us that he couldn't bring Gohan back… He granted Garlic Junior immortality. What kind of situation did Gohan find himself in that Shenron couldn't take him away from? Do I even want to know?

…silly question.

Of course I want to know.

It was so hard to forgive Goku for what he did. He was an idiot that day. Forcing Gohan to fight, to suffer the way he did, was the stupidest thing he's ever done. And as idiotic as Goku can be, that's saying something. But Gohan would have wanted me to forgive his father, so I did. Eventually. Just because I knew that it was unintentional didn't mean that I wasn't furious at him anyway. But I did it. And now I'm competing at a tournament with the imbecile, even though we all know that it will boil down to him and Vegeta in the end. It always ends up with him and Vegeta as the last standing, though I remember a time when Goku and I were on the same level, once. I still can't believe that I didn't win that tournament. Lucky son of a bitch. Or is that monkey? What the word for a female monkey?

Did I just really ask myself that question?

…I did. I've gone mad. That's all there is to it.

Suddenly, I feel it. The spot in the back of my mind, a place reserved solely for that little boy who wormed his way through my defenses and into my heart (gods, how that analogy disgusts me), gives a tiny pulse. Could it be possible? Is it…?

_Ba-dum._

Another beat. And another, and another. A sudden, enormous power level for a brief second, then nothing.

But the link still beats strong.

_Gohan_.

_Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba—_

Wait, what's happening? The beat… it's faltering…

_Ba… dum-ba…_

He's in trouble. But where? Why? How? Does this have something to do with that evil power that we all felt a few days ago? Did he somehow stumble across them the second he returned? Knowing Gohan, he probably did. The brat attracted trouble like nothing I've ever seen. The number of times I had to save him from being chased by hungry dinosaurs, falling into rivers, fighting against Saiyans and the like…

The link gives another unsteady beat. I can't feel him now, though whether that's because he's concealing his power or something more… ominous, I can't tell. I get the feeling that it's the latter of the two options. I'm sure he knows that he's on Earth; Vegeta and Goku don't bother to mask their power levels anymore. Their combined strength has scared off more would-be invaders than I can count. But I'm digressing. The point is that Gohan should be able to feel them easily and raise his power accordingly. The fact that he hasn't done so yet tells me that he isn't in the position to do so.

I'll see Goku and the others at the tournament in just a few minutes. I'll tell them what I felt.

And then I'm going to save Gohan, with or without them.

* * *

And so **Alea Iacta Est** comes to a close. The 25th World Martial Arts Tournament is about to commence and Gohan has somehow gotten himself into trouble. Again.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported this story, whether by reviews, story/author alerts, and favorite story/author. Knowing that so many people have enjoyed this gives me the drive to continue to write. Be on the lookout for Part Two of _Sic Veta Est_, **De Profundis**.

~texaspeach


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